Matthew Halsall - Colour Yes
[GOND003CD]
Format:
CD
Label:
Gondwana
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$14.00
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This is the second full-length album from UK trumpeter/composer/arranger/DJ/Gondwana label-head Matthew Halsall on Gondwana. His debut album Sending My Love (GOND 001CD) planted him firmly on the UK jazz map, and earned him praise across the board. Solid airplay from BBC Radio 1's Gilles Peterson (the album figured in his top 40 albums of 2008), Stuart Maconie (BBC 6 Music), Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and Mike Chadwick (Jazz FM) amongst others, culminated in a Maida Vale session for 6 Music. His debut offered a welcome return to form for UK jazz, and his second offering sees the committed performer and restless musician delivering six brand-new compositions. This time around, Matthew recruited the talents of Nat Birchall (sax), Adam Fairhall (piano), Gavin Barras (bass), Gaz Hughes (drums), Marek Dorcik (drums) and Rachael Gladwin (harp), delivering yet another consistent and brilliant release. The effortless swing of the title track really defines what it is about Halsall's vision of jazz that gives him the upper hand; this is timeless music, it owes nothing to the past -- sure, there are comparison points, but all lead to music which is indeed already classic. An undeniable clarity is present throughout, themes are balanced and already sounding fully road-tested. "Together" is a transcendental modal ballad which fuels the spirit of Stan Tracey's "Starless And Bible Black" and Neil Ardley's "Shades Of Blue" as performed by Don Rendell and Ian Carr's Quintet. Utterly beautiful. "Mudita" is the jazz-dance feature that will be a hit with the Sleepwalker and Soil & Pimp crowd; the spacial rhythm section plays like Bill Evan's classic trios, where the space between the notes almost means as much as the notes themselves. This not only shows a great respect for the past masters of modal exploration, but makes a bold step forward to re-establish British jazz as vital music as much in 2009 as it was in the mid-1960s. The addition of Rachael Gladwin's harp brings a sense of liquidity to the band, take it as read that Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane are honored forebears. By the album's close, the authoritative drive of this band truly seems to have transmitted themselves to a whole new astral plane.
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