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Review

Sam Crowe Group

Sam Crowe Group, Dempsey’s, Cardiff, 12/06/2013.

by Ian Mann

June 16, 2013

/ LIVE

The Crowe group continue to impress with both the quality of their recorded work and their exciting live shows.

Sam Crowe Group, Dempsey’s, Cardiff, 12/06/2013

Bristol born, London based pianist and composer Sam Crowe has garnered a good deal of critical acclaim for his albums “Synaesthesia” (F-ire Presents 2010) and “Towards The Centre Of Everything” ( Whirlwind Recordings,2013).

Crowe’s début exhibited considerable compositional promise but for this listener was surpassed by the Whirlwind album which was recorded in New York and featured the input of American musicians Alan Hampton (bass) and Mark Guiliana (drums). A perfect example of Whirlwind founder Michael Janisch’s ethos of trans-Atlantic co-operation “Towards The Centre Of Everything” ranks as one of the best releases of 2013.

Currently touring to promote the new album Crowe’s regular UK band includes Will Davies, on guitar, Danish emigre Jasper Hoiby on double bass and Dave Hamblett at the drums. The group normally also includes Kairos 4tet leader Adam Waldmann on saxophones but the recurrence of a troublesome hand injury that had previously curtailed Waldmann’s playing activities resulted in his last minute replacement on this date by alto saxophonist James Gardiner Bateman.

Gardiner Bateman also followed the route from Bristol to London and it’s to his great credit that he performed Crowe’s often complex material with supreme skill and confidence, often transposing Waldmann’s parts pretty much on the spot. This was a real test of his sight reading skills as well as his playing abilities and he passed it with flying colours, a delighted band-leader quickly dubbing him “super sub”. In many ways Gardiner Bateman was a natural fit for this role, the saxophone duties on “Towards..” are split between Will Vinson on alto and Waldmann on soprano making Gardiner Bateman an ideal replacement for the British born, New York based Vinson.

The majority of tonight’s material was drawn from the second album with just the occasional dip into the repertoire from “Synaesthesia”. In fact they began with “The Global Brain”, a staple of their live sets, which made its début on the first album before being re-worked on the second. The version on “Towards…” has a real New York edge, something that applies to the album as a whole, it’s interesting to hear just how much effect location can actually have on music. Here Hamblett demonstrated that he can handle edgy NY hip hop inspired grooves with aplomb, his crisp intelligent playing throughout the set revealed just why he is regarded as one of the UK’s leading up and coming drummers. The sterling rhythm work of Hamblett and Hoiby provided the platform for an opening solo by Crowe and a thrilling set of sax and guitar changes over odd meter signatures. The piece was climaxed by Hamblett’s drum feature above Crowe’s sparse piano chording. “Bad dude!” exclaimed Crowe gesturing approvingly at Hamblett at the conclusion of the tune. 

“Bad Science”, a tune from the new album but one that also been in the group repertoire for some time exhibited similar virtues. Crowe’s compositions boast hooky melodies and tight grooves and often develop from the leader’s insistent piano arpeggios. Crowe’s solo piano introduced this version of the tune with Gardiner subsequently stating the theme on alto. The first solo came from Hoiby , always a masterful double bass soloist thanks to a combination of a huge tone, remarkable dexterity and a strong sense of adventure and invention. He was followed by the consistently excellent Davies on subtly rock influenced guitar. Davies’ guitar is frequently the “extra component” that makes the sound of the Crowe group so distinctive. The blend of sax, guitar and piano allows for a broad mix of colours and textures, a combination that Crowe’s intelligent writing exploits to particularly good advantage. It was left to Gardiner Bateman to round off the solos with some more incisive work on alto.

After the NY informed intensity of the opening two pieces Crowe lowered the temperature with the ballad “Lydia” which he described as being “dedicated to my newest niece”. In a sense the tune is a sister piece to “Phoebe Baby” from “Synaesthesia” which carries a similar dedication. Again Crowe began the piece with a passage of unaccompanied piano, this time more lyrical in tone, a mood that was carried over into subsequent solos by Crowe, with melodic bass counterpoint from Hoiby, and by Gardiner Bateman on alto.     

The first set concluded with the tune “Willow The Wisp” from “Synaesthesia”, a tune inspired by the spectral children’s cartoon character. There was also something of a “ghost in the machine” thanks to a feedback problem with Crowe’s vocal mic. However this failed to detract from an excellent performance with Crowe leading off the solos, his playing moving seamlessly between the gently lyrical and the powerfully percussive, his control of dynamics is often one of the most impressive aspects of his playing. Meanwhile Davies used his effects wisely to create a highly impressionistic solo that made good use of his sustain pedal before the group as a whole gradually stoked up the intensity to end the first half on a rousing note.

Set two began with a segue of the tune simply titled “64” and the ambitious and impressive title track of Crowe’s second album. The atmospheric free jazz style intro to “64” featured arco bass and mallet rumbles with Crowe eventually picking out the melodic hook on piano prior to expansive solos by Davies and Gardiner Bateman. A reflective duet for bass and piano marked the transition into “Towards…” with sax and guitar subsequently picking out the theme. The group’s music frequently makes use of unison sax and guitar melody lines, a highly effective device that helps to give the music a unique flavour. Davies’ soaring, rock influenced guitar solo then emerged from this with Crowe and Gardiner Bateman subsequently following the trail the guitarist had blazed.

The title “Gaia” reflects Crowe’s concern for environmental issues. The tune itself reflects the more lyrical side of his writing and here featured a lengthy passage in piano trio mode with the outstanding Hoiby producing an inspired melodic solo with much of the playing focussed just above the bridge. Crowe’s own solo maintained the lyrical mood but the piece gradually gathered momentum to conclude with some tightly played ensemble passages as the theme was restated.

“The Arrow Of Time” was as ambitious as its title suggested covering an impressive dynamic range as the group built upon Crowe’s circling piano figures and the tight bass and drum grooves laid down by Hoiby and Hamblett. Crowe’s solo built upon the catchy melodic hook and incorporated some splendid interplay with the rhythm team. Meanwhile Davies’ soloing increasingly reminded me of a young Mike Walker.

The evening concluded with “Circles” which again featured the distinctive sound of alto and guitar doubling up plus a series of engaging piano and saxophone exchanges. The piece also included extended features for bass and drums with Hamblett rounding the evening off on a suitably rousing note. The Crowe group continue to impress with both the quality of their recorded work and their exciting live shows. With super sub Gardiner Bateman doing an absolutely outstanding job and with everybody else doing exactly what was required of them this was a gig that was well worth travelling many miles to see. A small but appreciative audience gave Crowe and his colleagues an excellent reception.

This had been my first visit to Dempsey’s for several months. Difficult home circumstances have made undertaking such lengthy journeys difficult but it was good to be back at this most welcoming of venues, subtly refurbished since my last visit. It was good to meet up with promoters Alistair McMurchie and Brenda O’Brien again and to see Cardiff jazz stalwarts Roger Warburton and Richard Hoad. Thanks also to Sam and Jasper for taking the time to talk after the gig, top guys both.

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