Flashmob, Dempsey, Cardiff,, 06/11/2013.

Flashmob is a quartet led by the Cornish born, London based guitarist and composer Ryan Williams. Their début recording “Generals”, was released on the F-ire Presents label in 2011, my review can be found elsewhere on this site and overall the album was very well received.

Tonight’s performance at Dempsey’s was part of a short tour supported by Jazz Services that saw Williams joined by Robbie Robson as part of an unusual guitar and trumpet front line supported from Ryan Trebilcock on double bass and Nick Smalley at the drums. Only Williams and Smalley appear on the album, Robson and Trebilcock were replacing Rory Simmons and Will Collier respectively. Nonetheless it was immediately apparent the both Robson and Trebilcock have been fully integrated into the band and the playing from all four musicians was excellent throughout.

It was a filthy night in Cardiff with high winds and driving rain and the audience turnout was disappointing, the die hards were in attendance but any waverers or casuals were doubtless deterred by the weather, we got drenched just walking from the car to the gig. If only the upstairs music room could have been as full as the downstairs bar where members of Cardiff’s Scottish and Irish communities were gathered in numbers to watch Celtic’s uninspiring single goal defeat away at Ajax. 

Those music aficionados who had braved the elements were rewarded with two sets of absorbing music from Williams and his band with the emphasis on some very promising new material which Williams hopes to document on album in 2014. Despite their name Flashmob’s music is, in fact, conspicuously unflashy. As a composer Williams is interested in ensemble colours and textures and with both the leader and trumpeter Robson utilising floor mounted effects units the band’s sonic palette is surprisingly broad.

Williams has also stated that he likes to avoid the usual head/solos/head format when composing and prefers a more integrated group sound that deploys improvised solos as a compositional device. Neverthless the opening “A Face For Radio” stuck relatively close to conventional virtues by serving as a good introduction to the members of the band with Williams soloing first followed by Robson and Trebilcock and with Smalley climaxing the piece with a series of drum breaks.

Williams was initially influenced by rock acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers but in more recent years he’s been inspired by a panoply of leading American jazz guitarists including John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Pat Martino, Ben Monder Adam Rogers and Brad Shepik, many of whom inhabit a territory informed by both jazz and rock. There was a touch of Frisell about Williams’ playing on “A Near Miss”, a tune sourced from the “Generals” album. Here both Williams and Robson made effective use of pedals to layer their sound, creating ethereal dreamscapes well suited to Robson’s melancholic Miles Davis inspired trumpet and Smalley’s neatly detailed drum and cymbal work.

The new tune “Shutter” was similarly atmospheric with Williams’ consistently imaginative chording (he’s a highly intelligent accompanist) underpinning features for Robson and Trebilcock,.the bassist impressed throughout with his hugely resonant tone and his dexterous, flexible and,when necessary, muscular playing.

“Republican Chin”  proved to be a first set highlight, an excellent, highly accessible tune that began with a passage of solo guitar and which built through Smalley’s cymbal shimmers into a Robson solo that made effective use of layering and echo effects. Introducing the band later Williams was at pains to point out “Robbie Robson on trumpet AND effects” and rightly so. The use of such electronica is a recent introduction to the band’s armoury but it’s an element that has expanded their sound and one which they deploy with taste, imagination and intelligence. By way of contrast Williams’ own solo deployed a scrupulously pure guitar sound that highlighted the clarity of his elegant single note runs.  All in all not bad for a tune named after Mitt Romney’s facial features.

However Williams is not averse to deploying a little electronic gadgetry himself as he demonstrated on the suitably lively “Animations”, a piece powered by Smalley’s insistent drum grooves which saw Williams’ fuzzed up, heavily treated guitar going head to head with Robson’s wah wah trumpet.
This was an exciting piece that recalled not only electric era Miles Davis but also Robson’s own Dog Soup band, the group name inspired by Davis’ seminal “Bitches Brew”.

I was expecting the first set to end on this energetic note but instead the group treated us to the atmospheric, sometimes dramatic “Angels In White Marble” with Robson’s melancholic trumpet sound again to the fore.

The second half began with yet another new piece. “Remarks Made” featured Robson’s layered trumpet, the richness of the sound suggesting the influence of the Norwegian school of trumpeting headed by Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvaer.

“Chetniks” is the opening piece on the “Generals” album. It’s typical of Williams’ writing style, unfolding slowly and logically and with the emphasis on texture and atmosphere rather than instrumental pyrotechnics. Thus the mid tune duet between Williams and Robson mid tune was all the more effective , embodying a sense of co-operation rather than competition. 

The bustling new tune “Sickie” brought about a change of mood with its lively opening dialogue between Trebilcock and Smalley followed by Williams’ lithe single note solo and Robson’s cleanly delineated trumpet feature.

“Grey Area” began with an extensive solo bass feature from the consistently excellent Trebilcock before giving way to a powerful passage featuring sustain heavy guitar and effects laden trumpet with Williams and Robson working effectively in tandem.

The tune “O.A.C” appears in two forms on the “Generals” album, a guitar trio version and a “Reprise” featuring the trumpet of Simmons. With Robson in tow it was “O.A.C Reprise” that   concluded tonight’s performance, the trumpeter taking the first solo but with the piece ending ending appositely with a passage of solo guitar from group leader Williams.

I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s performance which exhibited all the virtues of the “Generals” album whilst adding new elements via the intelligent deployment of electronica and effects. The intelligence and air of understatement that defined “Generals” remains and I think it’s fair to say that Flashmob have created a highly individual and distinctive group sound.

Cardiff Jazz stalwart Roger Warburton suggested that the band had been much more “full on” when they last visited Dempsey’s in 2011 but tonight’s display of subtle and intelligent music making interspersed with the occasional “in your face” moments was much along the lines of what I was expecting. Those who were present enjoyed it a lot but there weren’t quite enough of us to create the kind of atmosphere that distinguishes a really great night at Dempseys, hence the lack of an encore.

Speaking to Ryan Williams afterwards he told me that it’s his intention to record an album featuring much of this material in 2014 but that it may take quite a while for the finished product to hit the streets. Rory Simmons is still very much involved with the band but his work with Jamie Cullum plus his commitments to his own groups Fringe Magnetic and Eyes of a Blue Dog mean that he is not always available. Williams spoke of his wish to include both Simmons and Robson on the new recording. On the evidence of tonight’s performance it should be well worth the wait.

Williams is also the co-ordinator of the regular Sunday night jazz programme at The Salisbury Hotel in North London. Flashmob will be playing there on Sunday July 17th as part of the 2013 London Jazz Festival. Details of this plus Flashmob’s other remaining tour dates are listed below. Check them out if you can. 

14/11/13
9pm
The Big Easy @ The Church,
22 Great Hampton St, Birmingham B18 6AQ
0121 291 5087

17/11/13
9pm
The Salisbury (London Jazz Festival)
1 Grand Parade, Green Lanes N4 1JX
020 8800 9617

1/12/13
2pm
Jazz @ The Union Chapel Bar
Union Chapel, Compton Avenue, London N1 2XD
02072261686

1/12/13
9pm
Southampton Modern Jazz Club
The Bent Brief, 17-19 Lodge Road, Southampton SO14 6RP
n/a (free entry)

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