Finn Genockey

“Tacet Trust”

(Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT 703)

Finn Genockey – drums, Josh Short – trumpet, flugelhorn, Rasmus Sorensen – piano, Nico Kloffer – double bass

Finn Genockey is a young drummer and composer based in London and is the latest British musician to record an album for the Barcelona based record label Fresh Sound New Talent. Other young British musicians who have released albums on the imprint include saxophonists Alex Merritt, Sam Braysher and Alex Hitchcock, trumpeter Steve Fishwick and guitarists Tom Ollendorff and Mike De Souza.

I first saw a very young Genockey play way back in 2017 when he was part of. a NYJO jazz jam led by saxophonist Phil Meadows that took place in the performance space at Foyle’s Bookshop on Charing Cross Road as part of that year’s EFG London Jazz Festival.

Five years later Genockey’s name came to my attention again when he impressed as a member of the excellent quintet that played on saxophonist Emma Rawicz’s 2022 debut album “Incantation”, the first step on the road to Rawicz’s international jazz stardom. Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/emma-rawicz-incantation

Others with whom Genockey has worked include saxophonist Stan Sulzmann, trumpeter Henry Lowther, pianists Nikki Iles, Ivo Neame and Sultan Stevenson, bassists Tom Farmer and Rufus Reid, guitarists Hannes Reipler and Jakub Klimiuk, composer Justin Hurwitz and Irish singer-songwriter Orla Gartland.

In addition to his musical education with NYJO (the National Youth Jazz Orchestra) Genockey also studied at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating with a First and receiving a Concert Recital Diploma. His drum tutors included Jason Brown James Maddren and Francesco Ciniglio.

In addition to his skill as a drummer Genockey is also an accomplished composer and conductor. He is the founder and director of the London Intercollegiate Jazz Orchestra and his compositions have been performed both by the LIJO and the Guildhall Jazz Orchestra.

For his debut recording as a leader Genockey has assembled an international quartet featuring the talents of British trumpeter Josh Short, Danish pianist Rasmus Sorensen and German bassist Nico Kloffer. The album features Genockey’s compositions exclusively and is dedicated to his late grandfather. Genockey’s album notes, which form part of an elaborate package featuring the distinctive artwork of Bruno Baraldi, offer brief insights into each individual piece. Eddie Myers’ insightful liner notes add a little more flesh to the bones.

Genockey says of the album as a whole;
“Throughout a lot of this record I’m trying to follow my ear - to make music that people can connect up with feelings and stories, like they might do with a film soundtrack. I’m so happy with how the tunes ended up. There was so much spontaneity in the session, and the people involved are as important as the music itself.”

The album commences with “The Yawning Sun”, a composition that Genockey describes as representing “an awakening”. An atmospheric introduction is evocative of a sunrise with warm toned trumpet melodies floating above a rubato backdrop. The music then opens up into more conventional modal territory with Shaw continuing to take the lead. Although no saxophone is featured the music of John Coltrane represents a suitable reference point, something reinforced by the excellent Sorensen’s Tyner-esque piano soloing. The piece resolves itself with a return to the rubato style of the intro, now perhaps intended to represent the setting of the sun at the end of a beautiful day.

Title track “Tacet Trust” is named for the close musical relationship between Genockey and his bandmates and progresses through a variety of moods and styles. The close rapport between the four young musicians is exceptional throughout, and particularly so during the sometimes turbulent “free moments” that Genockey introduces as a challenge to his bandmates. The featured soloists are Rasmussen at the piano and the impressive Kloffer on double bass.

“The Tree Atop The Hill”, an image of which adorns the album cover, is an adaptation of a big band composition. Inspired by the Devon countryside it’s a second piece to feature an evocative rubato style intro, with Short’s flugel bringing a lush beauty to the music. A lyrical passage of unaccompanied piano marks the transition into the next section, with the leader’s drums imparting an additional momentum to the music. Nevertheless that sense of beauty and openness remains, the music continuing to place the emphasis on melody during the course of fluent solos from Sorensen and Short. It’s a piece that captures something of that cinematic or “film soundtrack” quality of which Genockey speaks.

“Midnight 54” was recorded after a long day in the studio with Genockey observing “this piece brings the bright happiness down into a creepy undertone”. There’s a genuine ‘after hours’ feel to the music that is eerily beautiful, with soft, breathy flugel and lyrical piano subtly underscored by bass and drums. Eventually the music begins to gather momentum, gradually increasing in terms of assertiveness.

“More Than Yesterday, Less Than Tomorrow” is a love song about “loving someone more and more each day”. It’s a delightful jazz waltz that incorporates solos from Kloffer on double bass, and Sorensen on piano, and which also includes a feature for the leader at the kit.

The Monet inspired “Still Life” is a gently upbeat number with a song like sensibility and bossa style rhythms. Short’s melodic trumpet solo is followed by a fluent and dexterous excursion from Kloffer on double bass, with Sorensen eventually taking over at the piano. It’s a breezy and uplifting piece that sets the scene for what is to follow.

“I Was Born Yesterday, But I Stayed Up All Night” is the album’s most exuberant and explosive track. “This is about coming late to writing”, explains Genockey, “I’m a drummer trying to prove that I’ve done my homework!”. It opens with a dynamic drum salvo and the whole piece crackles with an energy that Myers suggests represents a tip of the hat to the New York City jazz scene. Short plays with fire and fluency, as does Rasmussen, his torrential piano solo fuelled by Kloffer’s propulsive bass lines and Genockey’s volcanic Blakey-esque drumming. Naturally there’s a further fiery fusillade from the leader before the close.

“In The Bright Sleeve Of The Sky” takes its title from a poem that Genockey saw on the underground during the pandemic. It’s a piece inspired by the strangeness of the lockdown period, but one which ends up sounding positive with its bustling arpeggiated grooves and (eventually)  soaring, folk inspired melodies, with Short delivering a powerful trumpet solo.

The album concludes with “Avellino”, a nod to Genockey’s Italian heritage and a composition dedicated to the memory of his late grandfather Raffaelle Cresta. The tune is named for Raffaelle’s home town and represents both a eulogy and a musical celebration of his life, as Myers’ liner notes explain. Thus the piece embraces a variety of moods, from the contemplative to the joyous, with Short again making an outstanding contribution. Equally impressive is the excellent Sorensen who delivers a flowing solo as well as being at the heart of the music pretty much throughout.

“Tacet Trust” is a remarkable debut. Genockey impresses hugely as a composer, his pieces are multi-faceted and consistently interesting, while also exhibiting a strong sense of narrative and a genuine flair for melody. The playing of all four musicians is brilliant throughout with each player exhibiting a maturity and fluency that belies their tender years. Short’s tone on trumpet and flugel is consistently gorgeous and both Sorensen and Kloffer make huge contributions to the success of the album as a whole. Genockey’s own playing is right on the money and is also rich in terms of colour and texture. However he doesn’t seek attention and features himself sparingly, “Tacet Trust” doesn’t sound like a “drummer’s album” and the focus isn’t on the leader’s ‘chops’. Indeed it’s as a writer that Genockey impresses most, this is a stunningly mature set of compositions, superbly played by a hand picked international quartet.

Genockey produced the album himself and the sound is immaculate throughout, with the band also well served by the engineering team of Sean Genockey (Finn’s father),  Jake Stainer and Emre Ramazonoglu, the latter a drummer himself and perhaps best known as a member of the trio Ill Considered, alongside saxophonist Idris Rahman and bassist Liran Donin.

“Tacet Trust” is the most outstanding debut album that I’ve heard in some time and deserves to establish Genockey as a major figure on the UK jazz scene and beyond.

The album can be purchased here;
https://freshsoundrecords1.bandcamp.com/track/tacet-trust

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