Cloudmakers Trio

“Abstract Forces”

(Whirlwind Recordings WR4655)

Cloudmakers is the fiercely interactive trio founded and led by vibraphonist Jim Hart which sees him harnessing his prodigious musical skills alongside the equally talented Dave Smith (drums) and Whirlwind label owner Michael Janisch (double bass). “Abstract Forces” is their second album release following 2012’s highly acclaimed “Live at the Pizza Express” a superlative concert recording that teamed the trio with a very special guest, the New York based trumpeter Ralph Alessi. The alliance with Alessi exceeded many people’s expectations and the album scored highly in several of the end of year critic’s polls in the UK jazz press.

For this follow up album Hart has decided to concentrate on the core trio, although their live performances still regularly feature guest musicians. He has also chosen to record in a studio environment with the engineering team of Alex Bonney, Alex Lawson and Tyler McDiarmid capturing the delicate strengths of their richly nuanced music to perfection. The seven pieces, all of them new, come from the pen of Hart who explains the concept of the group, the album and the cover art thus;

“The names of the group and album comes from the analogy of a trio of rhythm section instruments acting as an engine room within the music. I thought of it like a power station that also produces clouds that have an abstract, ethereal quality to them. Our music is definitely highly charged and has a strong rhythmical focus on the one hand, but at the same time it is absolutely jazz in that it celebrates the freedom and openness of improvisation without being constrained by the compositions. There are abstract forces at work.”

Looking back at my review of the trio’s first album it’s immediately apparent just how exciting that night at the Pizza Express was and listeners might be excused for thinking that without the presence of a front line soloist the follow up might have difficulty reaching the same levels. However as Chicagoan vibes player Jason Adasiewicz has demonstrated with his Sun Rooms trio the combination of vibraphone, bass and drums can be very dynamic indeed. Hart may not be quite as physical in his approach to the instrument as Adasiewicz but he’s still a dazzlingly fluent four mallet improviser who consistently thrills audiences with his playing. Meanwhile Smith is one of the most in demand drummers around - and not just in the jazz firmament. His knowledge of African rhythms informs his own groups Outhouse and Fofoulah and he is currently working with Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant in the singer’s Sensational Shape Shifters band. The tireless Janisch
is constantly at work as label boss, tour organiser/facilitator and as one of the best bassists around,  a player with a hugely propulsive tone, astonishing dexterity and an advanced musical intelligence.

The qualities the three musicians bring to the music are apparent from the off as “Snaggletooth” develops from Janisch’s strummed bass intro to encompass some sparkling Hart soloing plus a raft of time signature changes yet without ever losing that essential underlying groove. Additional colour is provided by extended techniques such as Hart’s use of bows on the bars of his vibes to create something of that “abstract, ethereal quality” he references in his remarks above. 

The title of the pleasantly percolating “Angular Momentum” seems to sum up the trio’s music perfectly. Hart adopts a softer tone on the vibes but the piece is still full of complex twists and turns which Smith and Janisch negotiate with characteristic aplomb with Smith in particularly impressive form as the music gathers pace.

“Post Stone” is more abstract with the opening sounding as if it may be fully improvised. The intro is the free-est playing thus far with seemingly random ticks, strikes and rumbles, tantalising snippets of bowed vibes, cymbal scrapes and other varied percussive noises, pizzicato and arco bass. From this three way discussion a kind of structure eventually emerges but it still comes as a considerable surprise when the three instrumentalists suddenly coalesce to deliver the hardest driving grooves thus far with the sound of Hart’s vibes undergoing some form of electronic enhancement. An element of abstraction returns with Janisch’s bass solo before a forcefully emphatic coda finally resolves the piece. “Post Stone” is something of a tour de force, often a very exhilarating one, that goes through many phases during the course of its nine and a half minutes.

Following this “Early Hours” almost comes as a bit of light relief, a delightful dialogue between Hart and Janisch above Smith’s understated, frequently brushed, accompaniment. The piece opens with a passage of unaccompanied bass as Janisch appears to set the agenda on the most lyrical piece thus far.

“Social Assassin” boasts a great title and a stealthy groove plus more of the three way interaction that makes this trio so engrossing. There’s a flowing solo from Hart and further features for Janisch and Smith but there’s still a sense of a shared purpose throughout.

This is a quality that’s even more apparent on the the three way conversation that introduces “Ramprasad”. This is followed by a more impressionistic episode featuring Janisch’s anchoring bass, the furtive shuffling of Smith’s drums and percussion and the ghostly, other worldly sounds of Hart’s vibes. It’s a compelling passage that eventually metamorphoses into something rather more conventional and groove based before the piece ends much as it began, with the spirit of interaction predominate throughout.

The album concludes with “Conversation Killer”, a more obviously groove centred piece but one with many characteristically knotty twists and turns and changes of pace and a tantalising fade that hints at more music to come.

The Cloudmakers Trio is by far the most open context in which Jim Hart plays and “Abstract Forces” finds him rising to the challenges presented by the instrumental configuration of just vibes, bass and drums. I’ll admit that there were moments when I missed the presence of another instrumental voice -either Alessi or one of the trio’s other guests- but on the whole the core trio is utterly convincing in its own right. In this exposed situation the musical intelligence and sophistication of each member of the trio is gloriously apparent throughout as they make playing this often complex music sound easy. The earlier “Pizza Express” album demonstrates that they can do this live too.

Although the material is all Hart’s there’s a sense that Cloudmakers Trio is a highly democratic, interactive entity with a strong sense of a shared purpose, relishing in challenge and complexity yet never appearing po-faced about it. The exposed instrumental setting makes for something of a musical tightrope act, one that both thrills and entertains the listener. 

“Abstract Forces” will be released on Whirlwind recordings on September 29th 2014.

Cloudmakers Trio will be playing live dates as below. Some performances will feature either James Maddren or Seb Rochford on drums due to Dave Smith’s ongoing commitments with Robert Plant. 

Sept 28
The Albert, Bristol, UK

Sept 29
North Devon Jazz Club, Appledore, North Devon, UK

Sept 30
St Ives Jazz Club, St. Ives, UK

Oct 3
OFFICIAL ALBUM LAUNCH FOR ABSTRACT FORCES
The Crypt, London

Oct 10
Sheffield Jazz Club, Sheffield, UK

http://www.cloudmakerstrio.com

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