Geoff Eales

“Invocation”

(Nimbus Records NI 6287)

The Welsh born, London based pianist and composer Geoff Eales has been a frequent presence on the Jazzmann web pages. The classically trained Eales is a tremendously versatile musician who I first featured leading a conventional piano trio (with bassist Chris Laurence and drummer Martin France) on the outstanding 2009 album “Master Of The Game” .

Later came the exciting “fusion” (for want of a better word) group Isorhythm which featured Eales playing electric keyboards on the 2012 album “Shifting Sands”. More recent projects include his duo with the flautist Andy Findon on the semi classical album “The Dancing Flute” and a plunge into the deep waters of freely improvised jazz on the live album “Free Flow”, recorded at Dempsey’s in Cardiff in the company of saxophonist Ben Waghorn and master bassist Ashley John Long.

The recordings that I have covered are pre-dated by numerous other small group and solo piano records and Eales has also been a prolific sideman / session musician across a variety of jazz and popular music genres with a particular affinity for accompanying vocalists, among them Marlene Ver Planck and Lee Gibson. He has also appeared on numerous film soundtracks, played in the BBC Big Band, and, in a parallel classical career, he has composed both chamber and symphonic works.

Released in November 2014 “Invocation” is subtitled “Twelve improvisations for solo piano”. It is a work that brings several sides of Eales’ musical personality together as the freedom of jazz is balanced by a sense of rigour and discipline characterised by classical music. Over the years Eales has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the mainly classical record label Nimbus, a company with an enviable reputation for the sound quality of its recordings. “Invocation” was recorded on the grand piano at the concert hall at Nimbus’ Wyastone Recording Studio in rural Monmouthshire. Eales’ liner notes offer some insight into the inspirations behind each piece and I’d surmise that most of these improvisations are in fact variations upon existing compositions or ideas rather than Keith Jarrett style spontaneous inventions. Eales speaks of “digging deep into one’s musical psyche to invoke the muse within”, a creative process that has inspired the album title. He is aided in his quest by the quality of the instrument provided by Nimbus and by the superb acoustic at Wyastone.

The album commences with “The Seven Wonders” which begins appropriately enough in seven time and demonstrates Eales’ extraordinary virtuosity from the off. However Eales is not primarily concerned with mere technique, instead his improvisations are more concerned with telling a story and there’s a lyricism and a strong narrative feel about many of these pieces including this reflection on both the seven wonders of the ancient world, of which only the Great Pyramid of Gaza remains, and of potential existing claimants to the title including the Great Wall of China.

“Rapture” is unashamedly romantic and lyrical, a study of both romantic love and the power of “rapture” to transport one away from the mundane worries of day to day existence. It’s all rather lovely but with sufficient rigour to avoid descending into glossy sentiment.

Thunderous left hand rumbles introduce “Untamed”, which Eales describes as “a testament to the wild and spontaneous spirit that lies within”. Jagged and turbulent there’s plenty of technique on display here in a piece that represents something of a tour de force.

“Dancing River” was inspired by childhood trips to the Wye Valley, a celebrated beauty spot very near to the location of this recording. High register right hand trills and ripples help to invoke images of sun on the water and the prevailing mood is one of tranquillity and beauty.

The following “Boogie Train” is also inspired by a love of travel, and yes, it really is a boogie albeit a very sophisticated one with a distinct gospel tinge. In his own liner notes Nimbus owner Chris Craker makes reference to Eales being influenced by Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum and there’s certainly something of the spirit of both these jazz immortals here. Elsewhere on the album Craker cites classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and Messiaen plus more contemporary jazz figures such as Jarrett, Cecil Taylor and Egberto Gismonti. 

The sparse loveliness of “Yearning” is intended to mirror “feelings of sadness, loss and regret” yet remains a curiously uplifting listening experience despite the fleeting reference to “The Funeral March”.

Eales’ title choices are often highly descriptive and none more so than the gauzy “On Gossamer Wings”, the fragile beauty of which is intended to capture something of the atmosphere of the paintings of the French Impressionists. In achieving these aims Eales speaks of “the use of mild dissonance and scales uncommon to the Western European tonal system”. Leaving aside the mechanics it’s still hauntingly, chillingly beautiful.

Eales recounts that one of his earliest musical memories is of his eight year old self being taught the twelve bar blues by his father.  “Back To The Root” is effectively played backwards, beginning in a vaguely funky vein before subtly mutating into swing and finally blues as Eales takes us back to “where it all began”. The pianist himself now cites the inspiration of Peterson and Tatum plus Jarrett, Bill Evans and Erroll Garner.

Eales’ music is often imbued by a strong sense of place as evidenced by the spacious and atmospheric “In The Abbey”, inspired by the magnificent ruins of Tintern Abbey, founded by the Cistercian order and located on the west (Welsh) bank of the River Wye between Monmouth and Chepstow. Eales playing evokes something of its beauty and grandeur on one of the albums stand out pieces.

There’s that sense of place again on “Northern Lights”, though by Eales’ own admission this is purely an imaginary encounter with the wonders of the Aurora Borealis. Nonetheless it’s still wonderfully evocative with rippling arpeggios replicating the ethereal dancing and shimmering of the mysterious lights in the sky.

“One Step from the Edge” draws on Charlie Parker’s “Scrapple From The Apple” (which itself borrowed from Fats Waller’s “Honeysuckle Rose”) and George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” and turns them into something new by taking liberties with both melody and tempo. It’s a good example of Eales’ technical brilliance.

“They Can’t Harm You Now”, closes the album on an elegiac note, the piece dedicated to the memory of the countless children who have lost their lives in global conflict. Sparse, lyrical and beautiful it’s a heart felt prayer for piece.

“Invocation” represents another impressive artistic statement from Eales. Embracing a variety of jazz and other musical styles it’s an impressively diverse collection that highlights his undoubted technical abilities but also harbours a considerable emotional impact on pieces like “Yearning”, “In The Abbey” and “They Can’t Hurt You Now”. It’s a thoroughly accessible album with a number of evocative and highly descriptive pieces (“Dancing River”, “On Gossamer Wings”, “Northern Lights”)  plus two or three slices of pure jazz and blues (“Boogie Train”, Back To The Root”, “One Step from the Edge”).   

 

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