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Review

Harrison Smith Quartet

Telling Tales

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by Ian Mann

May 31, 2010

/ ALBUM

Ian Mann enjoys the latest album release from versatile saxophonist Harrison Smith and also looks back at his excellent 1998 release "Outside Inside".

Harrison Smith Quartet

“Telling Tales”

(33 Records 33JAZZ185)

Multi reeds player Harrison Smith is one of the great unsung heroes of British jazz. Originally from North East England he’s been part of the UK scene since the seventies playing in a variety of jazz styles including several forays into the world of free jazz and the avant garde. It was in this context that Smith recorded the 1989 album “Premonitions” with the Free Jazz Quartet alongside cellist Tony Moore, percussionist Eddie Prevost and with the late,great Paul Rutherford on trombone.

However Smith is perhaps best known for his work with the group District Six led by exiled South African drummer Brian Abrahams. Generally he’s been under recorded but the two albums I’ve heard featuring Smith as a leader are both excellent, 1998’s “Outside Inside” (Slam Records SLAMCD 231) and this offering which dates back to 2008. Both recordings feature what is essentially the same quartet line up. Joining Smith are the acclaimed pianist Liam Noble and that most musical of drummers the excellent Winston Clifford. Jeremy Brown occupies the bass role on the first album with Dave Whitford taking over for the more recent offering.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Smith’s quartet play live twice, both occasions being at Brecon Jazz Festival at the much missed Castle Hotel Ballroom venue. The first of these gigs was around the time “Outside Inside” came out and I remember buying a copy at the gig. The album remains something of a personal favourite even now, particularly Smith’s stunning solo bass clarinet which opens the album. He immediately draws you into his sound world and holds you there. Brian Morton’s liner notes to “Telling Tales” sum up the appeal of Smith’s music with these words “if it turns out to be some time before he sees fit to release another record, you can be reassured that you’ll still be playing this one five or ten years from now and still finding new things it”. Well that certainly applies to me and “Outside In”.

Smith’s next visit to Brecon was several years later but before the release of “Telling Tales”- although I’d guess that most of the material the quartet played on that occasion ended up on the album. In the interim between the two gigs the critical perception of Liam Noble had changed- he was no longer a “promising youngster” but had matured into “one of Britain’s finest pianists”. No arguments there, and in fact Noble’s playing is consistently excellent across both records as is that of Clifford and of course Smith himself.

Morton’s notes talk of the tension between structure and freedom in Smith’s music. Smith is a talented composer and both albums have strong themes upon which Smith and his colleagues base their improvisations. Some of these are relatively simple and quickly engage the listener’s attention but the way in which the quartet explore these melodic fragments is even more absorbing. Morton speaks of the “clarity and rigour” inherent in Smith’s music and while it’s true that there is a certain intellectual element about Smith’s methods the music is never “difficult”. The quartet never lose sight of the underlying melody and structure no matter how deeply they probe and the music is thus simultaneously challenging and accessible. I attended both of Smith’s gigs with fans who are less committed jazzers than myself and they thoroughly enjoyed it. My mate Steve also bought a copy of “Outside In” and still speaks of it highly. Maybe this review will persuade him to purchase “Telling Tales” too because there’s no doubting the fact that this latest release is well up to the standards of it’s illustrious predecessor. 

“Telling Tales” consists of nine Smith originals, all of them exhibiting the virtues that made “Outside Inside” so successful. Each piece is timed between five and ten minutes thereby giving plenty of time for ideas to develop. The opening “Tea with T” (Smith has a nice line in enigmatic titles) opens with a typically melodic Smith theme sketched by himself in conjunction with Noble before the pianist takes the first solo, improvising expansively above Clifford’s beautifully detailed drumming and Whitford’s grounding bass pulse. As on “Outside Inside” Smith takes his first solo on bass clarinet, here exploring the full extent of the instrument’s range. There’s no doubt that alongside Julian Siegel and possibly Courtney Pine he’s one of the finest exponents of the instrument in the country. A good start.

“Questions,Questions” is altogether breezier with a typically strong theme and elements of conventional swing. Smith is on tenor here and takes the first solo, really digging in before handing over to the ebullient Noble who delivers an effervescent solo of tumbling runs and clusters. Great stuff.

“Upon Reflection” is an abstract ballad that begins with the timbres of Whitford’s bass before Smith elegantly states the theme on tenor. Like all Smith’s compositions the piece seems to grow organically, seamlessly developing through Noble’s lyrical piano solo. Smith’s own solo is brilliantly constructed combining tenderness of tone with exploratory zeal as he gently probes and cajoles.

“A Bird In The Hand”, a dedication to one Alex Hand, is a quirky vehicle for Smith on bass clarinet.
There’s something of the great Eric Dolphy about his playing as Clifford chatters playfully around him. Noble’s solo is also a joy, anchored by Whitford’s odd meter bass groove and Clifford’s increasingly colourful drumming. 

Noble’s sombre solo piano introduces “Around We Go"with Smith’s darting soprano subsequently lightening the mood. The leader demonstrates his versatility and virtuosity with a magnificent soprano solo before handing over again to Noble who in turn passes the baton back to Smith. The two seem to have an excellent understanding, complementing each other yet never getting in one another’s way.

Smith sticks to soprano for the lyrical “Changes In Motion”, his soaring yet exploratory solo surpassing even the previous track and reminding me of the great Dave Liebman. Noble is his customarily excellent self and the intuitive support of Whitford and Clifford is as good as it gets.

“On The Edge” opens with a free-wheeling duet between Clifford’s drums and Smith’s muscular tenor, the freest playing on the album. The mood remains urgent even after the tricky post bop theme kicks in with Noble’s solo representing his most feverish playing to date as Clifford continues to drum up a storm behind him.

The album’s second ballad “In Shadow” finds Smith’s tenor taking on a wholly different tone. Here he’s warm and conversational, tenderly soloing above Clifford’s delicately brushed accompaniment. Dependable bassist Whitford also enjoys a moment in the limelight with a lyrical, gently resonant solo.

Whitford’s bass also opens the closing “Hybrid”, a neat encapsulation of all the quartet’s virtues. Smith’s tenor states an arresting, vaguely Middle Eastern sounding theme before he shades off into more esoteric territory with his solo. Noble also toys with structure and freedom on an audacious solo that explores the full range of the keyboard as Clifford’s gently polyrhythmic drumming circles around him. Whitford is the grounding presence but he too swims into focus temporarily before Smith returns to prominence again. 

“Telling Tales” is an excellent album that strikes just the right balance between composition and improvisation. There is a real chemistry between the four players, particularly Smith and Noble and in many ways it’s almost as much the pianist’s album as it is the leader’s. Let’s hope it’s not another ten year gap before Smith records again. He’s a neglected talent who deserves to be more widely heard.

Both “Outside Inside” and “Telling Tales” are highly recommended and should be available from http://www.slamproductions.net and www.33jazz.com respectively.

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