Stretch Trio

“Antithesis”

(Self release)

Stretch Trio are a young three piece group from Leeds that was originally created as an outlet for the compositions of saxophonist and electronic wind instrumentalist Andy French. The line up is completed by guitarist Calvin Travers and drummer Tom Higham.

In 2014 they won the Peter Whittingham Jazz Award after impressing a panel of judges that included trombonist Dennis Rollins and saxophonist Pete Wareham. Previous winners of the Whittingham Award including Led Bib, WorldService Project, Empirical and Phil Meadows have moved on to create a considerable impact on the UK jazz scene and I predict that Stretch Trio will enjoy similar success. The group have already enjoyed some valuable exposure at the 2014 Gateshead International Jazz Festival where they performed in their capacity as the winners of the Jazz North “Introducing” Award. The Jazz North prize also included two days of intensive mentoring from saxophonist and educator Ian Dixon, an experience all three band members found to be inspirational in terms of both composition and live performance.

“Antithesis” was recorded in November 2014, around a month before the awarding of the Whittingham prize This self released début is the first official documentation of an already distinctive band sound that seeks to be accessible to a wide audience and includes aspects of rock and electronica alongside a strong jazz element. Besides French’s EWI the band also make use of loops and other electronic effects. The self released album is attractively presented in a distinctive package with artwork designed by Poppy Palmer. The DIY ethos is typified by that fact that Palmer and the band constructed the CD cases by hand out of sheets of A3 card.

The trio’s geographical location plus their instrumental configuration will inevitably lead to comparisons with the more experienced Roller Trio, also Leeds based and also previous winners of the Peter Whittingham award. And it’s true that there some similarities but “Antithesis” suggests that Stretch Trio are already creating a group sound of their own with a variety of moods, styles and textures being explored.

The album opens with the long sax melody lines of “Cleopatra” with French’s sax gliding above Travers’ guitar arpeggios and Higham’s boxy, hip hop inspired drum grooves. A rapid injection of pace sees the trio moving into heavier, dubbier areas as their various FX begin to kick in, but this is just as quickly followed by another meditative passage led by French’s saxophone. Later on there’s an energetic drum feature from Higham above Travers’ insistent guitar chording. You get the picture, this is music that is full of dynamic contrasts, constantly evolving, never standing still. It has a jazz heart but elements of rock, dub and ambient can all be heard. It makes for refreshing listening and like the music of so many Whittingham award winners it has the potential to appeal to adventurous younger listeners who would normally be outside the jazz demographic. 

“Hectic Metric” begins eerily with the sound of guitar washes before gaining momentum. In a bass less group Travers’ guitar fulfils both a melodic and rhythmic role and his relationship with Higham is particularly strong, these two make an excellent team. The guitarist performs both functions here as the grooves begin to unfold and French unleashes his EWI, the resultant sound almost keyboard like as he takes the first solo. I didn’t care much for the 70s and 80s generation of EWIs, such as the lyricon played by Wayne Shorter in Weather Report but French’s playing here is both distinctive and convincing.

“The River” features French’s sometimes brooding saxophone meditations above rapidly circling guitar figures and a skittering drum groove and reminded me a little of Portico Quartet at times.  It ends in an ambient wash complete with birdsong.

The first half of “Solstice Part 1” is like the introduction to a pop hit with its insistent drum grooves and bright, synthetic sounding guitar and EWI - you could almost dance to it. Things then take a darker turn with a heavier, fractured groove from which Travers’ guitar rings out. It’s probably the furthest Stretch Trio get from jazz but still holds considerable appeal.
The piece is thematically linked to the following “Solstice Part 2”, it’s virtually a segue, which initially features the trio in more contemplative mood with the sound of spacey, high register EWI snaking around the now familiar mesh of guitar and drums. A change of pace brings back the breezy pop of “Part 1” and French again takes flight on EWI. The group describe this sequence as “our two part technical epic” and were at one time contemplating issuing it as a single, such is its pop appeal.

The bouncy and quirky “Crystal Caverns” features tenor sax and more of a conventional jazz feel but still possesses an agreeably contemporary edge. With a lengthy solo from French and a series of drum breaks from Higham the structure is closer to that of an orthodox jazz tune than anything else on the album.

The album concludes with the hooky and riffy “Tune 1” which effectively combines a jazz feel with some of the trio’s more contemporary electronic influences. An assertive sax solo over a shimmering guitar backdrop and a solid back-beat typifies the approach here. 

“Antithesis” is a highly promising début from this talented young trio. The first three pieces invite comparisons with Roller Trio but are all hugely enjoyable in their own right. The rest of the album then sees Stretch Trio staking out their own territory albeit in a variety of different areas. The recorded sound by the engineering/production team of Roni Szpakowski and Jacob Corr serves the music well.

There is huge potential here and “Antithesis” is a hugely enjoyable piece of work in its own right.
However it’s the band’s second album that is likely to be the killer and it may be that labels are already looking at them. They will also have the Whittingham Award money to help with its production.

On this evidence I’d surmise that they’re already a pretty impressive live act, if they can match Roller Trio’s confidence in this area then their reputation can only continue to grow.  They already have a couple of festival appearances pencilled in for this summer as below;

Live Shows from http://www.stretchtrio.com

8th May, 2015
The Capstone Theatre, Liverpool
£11.50 Entry

1st July, 2015
The Lescar, Sheffield
£6 Entry

12th July, 2015
Wigan Jazz Festival
Support Slot - Headline act on Sunday evening of Wigan Jazz Festival

6th September, 2015
Chapel Allerton Music Festival, Leeds
More details to come…

 

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