Martin Speake – Duo Recordings 2024/25

Martin Speake & Alcyona Mick – “Illusion” (Pumpkin Records 013)
Martin Speake – alto saxophone, Alcyona Mick – piano

Martin Speake & Jeff Williams – “Unspoken” (Pumpkin Records 014)
Martin Speake – alto saxophone, Jeff Williams – drums

Martin Speake & Will Butterworth -”Love and Freedom” (Pumpkin Records 015)
Martin Speake – alto saxophone, Will Butterworth – piano

PROLOGUE

Over the course of the last year or so alto saxophonist Martin Speake has released four duo recordings on his own Pumpkin record label.

The first of these was “Tendrils”, recorded with tenor saxophonist Alyson Cawley, which was released in June 2024 and which is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/martin-speake-alyson-cawley-tendrils

The series has since continued with further releases featuring pianists Alcyona Mick and Will Butterworth and drummer Jeff Williams and I will be taking a more detailed look at each album in due course.

It may be that Speake’s ongoing legal dispute with his former employers Trinity Laban has obliged him to record in this pared down format but it’s also true that he has a long and proud history of duo recordings. Of these “Spark”, his 2008 collaboration with drummer / percussionist Mark Sanders and “Zephyr”, a 2018 release with violinist / vocalist Faith Brackenbury are reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann.

Speake has also recorded albums in the duo format with guitarists Colin Oxley and Samo Salamon and with pianists Douglas Finch, Alex Maguire and Liam Noble.

Of course Speake has also worked with larger groups and as a leader or co-leader he has released more than twenty recordings and there isn’t really sufficient space or time for me to go into all of them here. Particularly notable international collaborations have featured his playing in the company of pianists Ethan Iverson and Bobo Stenson and drummers Paul Motian and Jeff Williams. A more comprehensive biography and discography can be found by visiting Speake’s website http://www.martinspeake.com

ILLUSION

The second album in the current duo series (following “Tendrils”) is “Illusion”, Speake’s recording with pianist Alcyona Mick.

The album was recorded in March 2023 and the duo toured the music in the UK during the same year. It places a greater emphasis on composition than the later albums with Williams and Butterworth, both of which are entirely improvised. Nevertheless improvisation remains an important part of Speake and Mick’s process.

The album features thirteen pieces, eleven of them composed by Speake. The emphasis is very much on melody and beauty, as exemplified by the opening “Betty”, a delightful dedication to the composer’s late mother which sees Speake’s clear toned alto probing subtly in the company of Mick’s crystalline piano. Mick is a musician who is also accustomed to working in the duo format, having recorded ‘two handers’ with saxophonist Tori Freestone and cellist Kate Shortt. Mick is also part of vocalist Brigitte Beraha’s Lucid Dreamers group and is a former member of the trio Blink, which also featured saxophonist Robin Fincker and drummer / percussionist Paul Clarvis. In 2004 she released “Around The Sun”, her only album as a sole leader, this featuring a band including trumpeter Robbie Robson, saxophonist Mark Hanslip, bassist Phil Donkin and drummer Asaf Sirkis, with Olivia Chaney adding guest vocals.

“Always A First Time” continues the mood of gentle lyricism and is ushered in by a passage of unaccompanied piano. There’s a wistful quality to Speake’s playing here, allied to his customary strong sense of melody. Mick stretches out again at the piano, her contribution intelligent and thoughtful.

“Toxicology” is a much more lively and playful affair, it’s title hinting at Speake’s love for the music of Charlie Parker, something that is also reflected in the playing, although Speake has a very individual alto sound and is in no way a Parker clone. Nevertheless his respect for ‘Bird’ shines through. The piece also features some of Mick’s most animated and most percussive playing thus far, particularly during a sparkling solo piano section. There’s some great interplay with Speake’s alto too.

“Sabbo” is a tender dedication to the late pianist and educator Pete Saberton (1950-2012), a much loved and respected figure on the UK jazz scene. But there’s also a steely resolve behind the lyricism as the duo probe deeply but subtly.

I’m not sure which came first, the record label or the composition, but next up is “Pumpkin”, a tune that is as pleasingly whimsical as its title and which elicits a particularly intimate performance from Speake and Mick.

The introduction to “Level One” sees tightly intertwined sax and piano, before the duo diverge to deliver concise solo statements on their respective instruments. They then resume their lively instrumental dialogue.

Title track “Illusion” is introduced by sombre but lyrical unaccompanied piano, with Speake’s alto arriving comparatively late in the proceedings. He adapts quickly to the reflective mood of a piece that has also been performed by his quartet of guitarist Mike Outram, bassist Calum Gourlay and drummer Tristan Maillot. There are also a number of other items on this album (“Betty”, “Hildegard”, “Toxicology”) that have also been performed by this quartet.

“Hildegard” is presumably named for Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th century composer and mystic much admired by Speake and his former collaborator Faith Brackenbury, and presumably by Alcyona too. There’s an incantatory tone to Speake’s alto as his horn keens gently above the soft rumble of Mick’s pianistic undertow.

The first ‘outside’ item is “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?, written by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg. The duo give a brief but reverent and undeniably beautiful rendition of the tune, capturing its sense of yearning and nostalgia.

Speake’s own “Fifth Dimension” is darker in tone and is the lengthiest piece on the album with the composer’s alto probing more deeply. With its rhythmic complexities the piece is also reflective of Speake’s love of Indian music and other ‘world jazz’ styles.

“Cosmic Dance” lightens the mood with its folk like melodies and the joyous interplay between alto and piano.

“Victory Ball” written by pianist Lennie Tristano, was presumably chosen as a homage to Tristano’s alto saxophonist partner Lee Konitz, who appeared in several of Tristano’s groups. It’s a good choice with Speake and Mick exploring the complexities of Tristano’s writing with an obvious relish.

After beginning the album with “Betty”, a dedication to his late mother, Speake closes it with “Becky”, a composition written for his daughter. A version of the tune also appears on the “Tendrils” album. For this recording Speake performs it as a solo saxophone piece, with Mick sitting out for the only time. As on “Tendrils” it’s a beautiful performance that concludes the album with a touch of symmetry and serenity.

UNSPOKEN

Speake’s album with Williams was recorded just three days after his session with Mick. Once again the recording was made at Porcupine Studios with Nick Taylor engineering.

In his liner notes Speake explains that he first met the American born Williams in 2004 when the drummer first moved to London. The introduction was made by a mutual musical acquaintance, US pianist Ethan Iverson.

Since that time Williams has led something of an Atlantic hopping existence and has worked in the UK on a regular basis as both a performing musician and as an acclaimed musical educator. He played with Speake’s International Quartet, which also featured Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson and British bassist Mick Hutton, Williams coming in as a replacement for Paul Motian.

Williams then went on to tour and record with Speake’s Generation Quartet, featuring pianist Barry Green and his namesake, bassist Dave Green.

In his liner notes for the “Unspoken” album Speake states;
“It seems fitting after twenty years of playing together that we have recorded in duo for the first time.  This totally improvised session took place not long before Jeff moved to Portugal and is a culmination of those twenty years of playing music, developing a rapport and a unique sound together. Thanks you Jeff, for the twenty years of music and friendship”.

During those twenty years Williams has also worked prolifically as a leader, leading groups on both sides of the Atlantic. Numerous recordings and live performances featuring his playing in a variety of different line ups can be found elsewhere on The Jazzmann. Prior to his move to the UK I was already familiar with his playing via recordings made with saxophonist Dave Liebman and pianist Richie Beirach.

One might expect a sax / drums duo album to be a belligerent affair, but even hear Speake places a premium on melody and Williams’ drumming emphasises the painterly side of his playing. He’s a supreme colourist, following in the Motian tradition, and it’s this aspect of his playing that predominates here. However as he has demonstrated on his own recordings he is also a drummer capable of unleashing a considerable power, plus he’s an impressive composer too.

The album commences with “Hand-Some”, which as the title suggests features Williams playing the kit with bare hands, neatly colouring and shadowing Speake’s improvised alto sax melodies.

An extended solo drum passage introduces “Kinematic”, an impressive if slightly restrained example of Williams’ acclaimed ‘polyrhythmic flow’ that embraces the sounds of toms and cymbals. He continues to prompt Speake’s lissome sax melodies on a piece with an inner logic that almost makes it sound as if it could be pre-composed. As Speake drops out again towards the close there’s a second, more assertive drum passage from Williams that brings the piece to its conclusion.

“Easy Fall” features tentative sax melodies and similarly furtive brushed drum accompaniment. One can sense the duo members listening to each other as they gently navigate their musical path.

“Pick Up Sticks” is a more confident and assertive sax and drum dialogue with Williams now favouring sticks, skittering around the kit in response to Speake’s rapidly darting sax phrases.

At first sounding almost subliminal “Fielding” features the smallest of sonic gestures,  including the soft rustling and scraping of drum skins, with Williams’ using his fingers on the skins in much the same way as a tabla player. Speake delivers soft rushes of breath through his horn, before adopting a more assertive multiphonic sound as the piece progresses, the dialogue gradually becoming more forceful.

Representing another example of Williams’ ‘polyrhythmic flow’, and incorporating some exquisite cymbal work, “Ray’s Way” (possibly named for bassist Ray Brown) is the lengthiest track on the album. The duo have likened their improvisations as being “like surfing, catching a wave, the wave runs out and you try to catch another wave”. You can hear that analogy being played out here during the course of a piece that encapsulates the duo’s mutual trust in each other’s abilities.

You can hear those qualities again on the following “Hear-Say”, another fine example of the duo’s intuitive rapport.

“Bristles” is presumably named for Williams’ busy brush work on this piece, responding briskly to Speake’s lithe sax melodies. Maybe it’s also because the piece fairly bristles with musical ideas.

“Moorland” is one of the duo’s most wide ranging musical conversations with Speake sometimes deploying multiphonics on a piece that ebbs and flows, the moods ranging between the garrulous and the reflective. On occasion the music is almost subliminal. Like the earlier “Fielding” it’s one of the most obviously ‘free jazz’ pieces on the album.

The recording concludes with the richly evocative and atmospheric “Harmattan” with its long sax melody lines,  luminous cymbal shimmers and the gentle rumble of Williams’ toms.

LOVE AND FREEDOM

The last recording in this series, which was documented some ten months after the other two discs, features pianist Will Butterworth.

Although still relatively little known (unjustly so, in my opinion) Butterworth has featured regularly on the Jazzmann pages. He used to have a connection with somebody in my locality and played fairly regularly in the nearby towns of Presteigne, Hay-on-Wye and Abergavenny.

Reviews of several live appearances plus a number of Butterworth recordings appear elsewhere on The Jazzmann. Among those musicians with whom he has collaborated are saxophonists Jake McMurchie, Tom Harvey and Seb Pipe, bassists Matt Ridley, Adam King, Marcus Penrose, Nick Pini and Henrik Jensen and drummers Dylan Howe, Jon Scott, Pete Ibbetson and Marco Quarantotto.

Speake and Butterworth first met on a gig at the Ajani’s venue in North London but only began playing as a duo sometime later. They began by playing standards, alternating these with passages of free improvisation. Both musicians place a premium on melody and this finds expression on this recording.

For the recording the duo decided to dispense with the standards, despite their shared love of them,  and instead placed the emphasis on improvisation and spontaneity as Butterworth’s liner notes explain. It was documented in a single two hour session at Porcupine Studios with Nick Taylor again engineering. Butterworth states;
“The music was completely improvised with no prior conversation and was performed in the order it is here, with no retakes and no pieces left on the cutting room floor. Everything we played is here on this album”.

Butterworth continues;
“There’s a lot going on here. For that time we both shared an innate and unspoken understanding of structure, of the need for a variety of textures and of the dramatic narrative of performance. It felt natural and effortless There was a strong sense of trust between us, if there was somewhere to go we would both go there without hesitation or doubt. For an hour or so we were just existing right there in it. In the music, with ourselves, our instruments and each other. We just played. Flow state or being in the zone doesn’t come by often enough. We are lucky when it does, and luckier still to record it”.

He praises Speake’s melodic sense and also the quality of the piano at Porcupine. He also talks of feeling detached from the process and of how he and Speake allowed each other individual freedom, co-existing within the framework of the music. The album takes it’s title from the last phrase of Butterworth’s liner;
“Jazz is, and always has been, a dance between the soloist and the accompanist, between individualism and collectivism, between intimacy and distance, and between love and freedom”.

The album commences with “The Hidden Hand”, a piece that establishes the duo’s shared sense of melody in a series of pleasingly meandering exchanges instigated by Speake’s alto.

“A Clear View” places the emphasis on lyricism and a fragile beauty while the following “Symmetry” is more angular and contrapuntal.

Title track “Love and Freedom” acts out the “jazz dance” of which Butterworth speaks in lyrical and melodic fashion. There’s a wistful, almost elegiac quality about the music in a piece that demonstrates that “innate and unspoken understanding of structure” and which almost sounds pre-composed. It’s one of the album’s longest tracks, and one of the most beautiful.

“On the Same Page” is an apt title for a track from this intuitive duo. It features the pair pushing into more avant garde / experimental jazz territory and features the harsh sounds of Speake’s alto sax multiphonics allied to Butterworth’s dampening of the piano strings.

The moody and atmospheric “Coombestone Tor” would appear to be named after a location on Dartmoor (sometimes spelt as “Combestone Tor”). The first section is Butterworth solo, playing solemn,  low end piano chords. Later in the tune these continue, but now leavened by the gentler melodies of Speake’s thoughtful alto sax.

By way of contrast “The Breath” begins with Speake solo, pure toned and fluent, later joined in dialogue by Butterworth at the piano. It’s something of a tour de force for Speake, who, supported by Butterworth, stretches out expansively and effectively.

“Hook Up” features a closely intertwined dialogue between alto and piano while “Perception” sees the duo pushing closer to avant garde territory once more with the garrulous fluttering of Speake’s sax answered by harsh piano block chords.

“Dance” is a lengthy,  tightly focussed and often intense dialogue, initially instigated by Speake’s alto.

The album concludes with “Song”, a softer and more elegiac musical conversation with more than an air of wistfulness about it.

EPILOGUE

Martin Speake’s duo recordings with his three different partners are all very different, yet share a common sensibility.

“Illusion”, the album with Alcyona Mick is perhaps the most accessible for regular jazz listeners with its greater focus on composition and with an emphasis on melody and beauty.

But there’s plenty of that on the improvised albums too, even on the one made with just alto saxophone and drums. “Unspoken” is very much an album that draws on Williams’ skills as a colourist and there are moments of genuine beauty in addition to the rhythmic and textural interest.

The second piano album, with Will Butterworth, is perhaps more challenging than the first with Alcyona Mick and embraces a wider variety of moods and styles.

But even the improvised albums don’t fit the usual, often belligerent,  ‘free jazz’ template and focus on short, tightly focussed improvisations rather then sprawling forty five minute ‘epics’ - and even in these contexts Speake’s inherent love of melody shines through. There are moments of genuine beauty on all three of these very worthwhile recordings.

There are informative YouTube features / interviews relating to all three recordings as follows;

“Illusion” with Alcyona Mick;
Martin Speake & Alcyona Mick Illusion recording session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGuWjS8siCQ

“Unspoken” with Jeff Williams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Loujfr1QM

“Love and Freedom” with Will Butterworth;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcCIiRnC4T8

In all three interviews the musicians emphasise the danger of “overthinking” and stress the importance of immersing oneself in the process, effectively letting the music itself take control.

 

 

 

 

 

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