Betty Accorsi Quartet

“Nature Prints”

(Self Released)

Betty Accorsi – soprano saxophone, vocals, Dan Hewson – acoustic and electric piano, trombone, Andy Hamill – electric & acoustic bass, Joe Edwards – drums

“Nature Prints”  is the third album release from the Italian born, UK based saxophonist, vocalist and composer Elisabetta ‘Betty’ Accorsi.

Originally from Milan she studied classical saxophone at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire in her native city but also found time to play other styles of music, among them folk, prog rock, contemporary classical, and, of course, jazz.

It was her passion for the latter to brought her to London to study jazz saxophone at Trinity Laban. She subsequently mastered in jazz saxophone plus composition and arrangement at Goldsmith’s.

Comprised mainly of former Goldsmith’s students Accorsi formed her quartet as an outlet for her compositions. In 2020 she released her début album “The Cutty Sark Suite”, which was financed by a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and premiered at the Brighton Fringe Festival in 2021.

The suite was inspired by Accorsi’s years of living in Greenwich and by the local landmark the Cutty Sark, a nineteenth century Scottish built tea clipper that was the fastest ocean going vessel of her day.

“The Cutty Sark Suite” consisted of four movements, each one representing a country to which the vessel had sailed – China, Indonesia, South Africa and England. It demonstrated Accorsi’s considerable abilities as both a player and composer and received a very positive critical reception, including a highly favourable four star review from The Jazzmann which can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/betty-accorsi-quartet-the-cutty-sark-suite

Accorsi’s writing is frequently inspired by geographical locations and a sense of place.  Her second album “Growing Roots” was inspired by her move to Brighton, a city that she has clearly grown to love. The album represents a paean to her adopted home city and my review of the “Growing Roots” recording, which forms the basis for much of the above biographical detail, can be found here.
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/betty-accorsi-quartet-growing-roots

In addition to leading her jazz quartet Accorsi is also one half of the acoustic duo Sloth in the City, alongside her husband,  acoustic guitarist Andrea Martelloni. First formed in 2018 the duo released the EP “Remember Music” in 2021. Accorsi describes the recording as featuring “originals that blend jazz forms with Celtic folk and Mediterranean music.”

Like its predecessors Accorsi’s latest quartet album is inspired by geographical locations and by nature and also by various forms of artistic endeavour. “From nature comes art, from art comes nature” Accorsi declares in her liner notes. She continues; “I keep discovering both in every fragment of my daily life, and the life of others. This album is dedicated to this concept”.

In terms of musical influences she acknowledges the inspiration of jazz composers such as John Surman, Pat Metheny and Wayne Shorter in addition to various European folk musics and classical composers such as Dvorak, Bartok and Debussy.

Accorsi continues to specialise on soprano saxophone and the line up for “Nature Prints” shows one change from the “Growing Roots” recording with Joe Edwards replacing Scott MacDonald in the drum chair. This time round Hewson doubles on trombone and Accorsi places a greater emphasis on vocals. Five of the nine tracks feature her singing, but I have to confess that I’m not entirely convinced by this change of direction, but more on that later.

Accorsi’s liner notes also offer further insights into the sources of inspiration behind the individual tracks. The album gets off to a terrific start with the all instrumental “Who Is The Queen?”, a composition inspired by the Queen of the famous Lewis chess set. Accorsi thinks the Queen looks bored and has written this composition to entertain her. It’s a piece that certainly succeeds in its aims, ushered in by the combination of Edwards and Hamill and featuring medieval / classical melodic motifs. It also features some dazzling jazz soloing from Hewson at the piano and the leader on soprano sax. There’s also a feature for new drummer Joe Edwards, who impresses with his skill and dynamism. Classic Accorsi, and a great start to the album.

The ‘Queen’ theme continues with “Mary”, a homage both to the American poetess Mary Oliver (1935-2019) and to nature itself. Oliver’s poetry was often inspired by nature and Accorsi’s own words reflect this. This piece features Hewson doubling on trombone and the warm, rounded tones of this instrument combine effectively with Accorsi’s soprano on the duo introduction. Hamill’s unaccompanied double bass forms the bridge into the next section which features Accorsi’s spoken narrative, her recitative delivered in heavily accented English. This is followed by a lengthy instrumental passage featuring solos from Accorsi on soprano and Hewson, now back on piano. A second vocal section features Accorsi singing rather than speaking.

A second vocal piece, “Illusions”, is inspired by the beauty of stained glass in English churches with Accorsi asking “is there shame or danger in believing in God if it helps us to overcome difficulties?”. The sung lyrics reflect her essentially agnostic stance and the music includes instrumental solos from Hamill on bass, Accorsi on soprano and Hewson at the piano. It’s a piece that is simultaneously beautiful and thought provoking.

“Song For A” is a love song that Accorsi dedicates both to her husband Andrea Martelloni and to the late Wayne Shorter, who Accorsi describes as “one of the first jazz musicians to be thoroughly inspired by nature, fairytales and poetry”. It’s an instrumental piece introduced by a passage of unaccompanied piano from Hewson and features the subtly probing soprano of Accorsi, her thoughtful playing exhibiting something of Shorter’s approach. Hamill is also featured on melodic double bass and Hewson at the piano on a piece that is simultaneously lyrical and celebratory.

“Garden Trip” is inspired by the art of gardening and the work of Giulia, Accorsi’s friend and a passionate gardener. The lyrics are economical – just four haiku like lines sung right at the beginning piece, setting the scene for the instrumental flowering that is to follow. An attractive composition moves through a series of tempo changes and incorporates solos from Hewson at the piano, Accorsi on soprano and Edwards at the drum kit.

“Carillon” is a song about the healing power of nature and features Accorsi singing the lyrics in Italian. The mood and tempo shifts between verses, from brisk and jaunty to something slower and more reflective. Hewson then delivers a lyrical solo at the piano, followed by Hamill on melodic double bass. There’s a reprise of the lyrics before another gear change as the pace increases once more, with Accorsi joyously cutting loose on soprano as the music almost veers into free jazz territory.

Accorsi’s travels introduced her to the traditional Irish folk tune “Molly Malone”. Describing the title character as “another Queen of my album” Accorsi delivers the familiar words in heavily accented English as part of a slowed down jazz arrangement that emphasises the tragedy behind the tale. Hewson’s piano solo is flowingly lyrical, Accorsi’s on soprano more incisive, while Edwards’ funereal drumming in the final section again emphasises the sadness behind a song that is often treated with considerably less gravitas than it receives here.

The album concludes with two instrumental compositions. “Glass Horse” is inspired by the creature of the same name crafted by a Venetian glassmaker. A loosely structured and highly atmospheric introduction is followed by a more upbeat section paced by Hewson at the piano, with Accorsi’s soprano dancing lithely above the often complex rhythms. Hewson also enjoys a spirited excursion of his own, as does Edwards at the drum kit.

The album concludes with “Into the Forest”, inspired by Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It’s a piece that moves through several distinct phases, soft and ethereal at first but more vibrant and upbeat later on, with Hamill’s electric bass playing a key role in the arrangement. Accorsi solos on soprano and Hewson on electric piano. Like many of Accorsi’s compositions it’s a piece that follows a strong narrative arc and the piece finishes as quietly as it began with the lone sound of Hamill’s electric bass.

“Nature Prints” is another impressive offering from Accorsi and is an intelligent album that explores a number of different themes, all united by a common love of art and nature. Clearly a lot of thought has informed the creative process and all four participants play superbly throughout.

My only reservations concern the vocals. Here’s what I said about Accorsi’s singing on the song “Like A Tree” from the “Growing Roots” album;
“I’’d hazard that she’s not a trained singer, but her naive vocals are delivered with sincerity and in a style that is well suited to her music”.  
Vocals are used sparingly on Accorsi’s first two albums but are much more central to this latest release. Lyrically Accorsi has something to say and my reservations lie not with the words themselves, but with their delivery. As much as I admire Accorsi’s writing and playing I’m less keen on her singing, although it’s not entirely without charm. But I do wonder if she should perhaps be thinking of employing a guest singer for the vocal numbers, particularly if they are to become a more integral part of her music.

This observation apart “Nature Prints” is an album with a lot going for it and far more positives than negatives.

Accorsi is an artist that I’d very much like to see perform live, but unfortunately she rarely seems to play outside London and the South of England. The album launch gig will take place at the Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club in Kennington, London on July 24th 2025.

The “Nature Prints”  recording will be released on July 18th 2025, at which point it should be available from Accorsi’s Bandcamp page, which can be reached via her website https://www.bettyaccorsi.com/

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