Bristol based alto saxophonist James Morton’s Porkchop band were a breath of fresh air at the city’s one day jazz celebration at Colston Hall last September. Sandwiched between the atmospherics of Andy Sheppard’s excellent “Movements In Colour” group and the decidedly bloodless performance by Abdullah Ibrahim’s trio Morton let rip with some heavy duty jazz funk that left his audience breathless and exhilarated.

Much of the material Morton played at Bristol came from this excellent new CD which also features the exceptional talents of Hammond organist Dan Moore together with guitarist Denny Ilett and tight, funky drummer Ian Matthews. At Bristol drumming duties were undertaken by the Zurich based Guido May and there was also a very welcome guest appearance from veteran tenor saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis.

Ellis is one of Morton’s mentors, a role Sheppard also fulfilled in the young alto player’s early days. Morton has learnt well, his band deserve to be ranked among the leading exponents of the jazz funk genre. Their punchy, hard hitting style compares well with that of Derek Nash’s Protect The Beat and Porkchop play with a fire and attack that makes the more celebrated JTQ sound positively tepid.

Porkchop’s inspiration seems to come partly from James Brown, partly from the organ jazz that was so popular in the 50’s and 60’s-Jimmy Smith, Big John Patton etc,etc.-and partly from the later Acid Jazz boom. They update these traditions with an energy and zest that keeps even non jazz audiences entertained but behind Morton’s showmanship there’s a keen musical intelligence at work resulting in plenty for the more serious listener to enjoy . This is a group that can cut it both live and on record, the latter not always an easy trick to pull off with this style of music.

Comprising mostly of group originals the album leaps from the blocks with the soulful grooves of “Goin’ Home” . Matthews’ drums lead the whole thing off and the tune introduces the tight knit phalanx of sax, organ and guitar. The lack of a bassist is no obstacle for Porkchop, Moore’s organ pedals or Ilett’s dense rhythm chording take care of these functions and in any case Matthews is a splendidly propulsive drummer who shines throughout this opening number. Moore, Ilett and finally Morton contribute short, pithy solos that stay true to the energetic mood of the piece.

Ilett shows up well on the loping, funky “Alright”, which promises to be a slow burner but quickly catches fire. Ilett’s blues influenced solo is matched by Moore’s fiery Hammond solo and Morton’s   strident alto, the whole driven along by the indefatigable Matthews.

At eight minutes plus “Forgiven” is the lengthiest track on the album, a funk/soul ballad that features Morton’s surprisingly tender alto above Moore’s Hammond swells and Ilett’s choppy rhythm chords. Ilett’s solo moves from jazz chording to spacious, soar away blues guitar and the whole thing is unexpectedly moving and something of a live show stopper.

“The Hump” is a return to something more overtly funky, a boogaloo shuffle that sounds pretty much as you’d expect. Porkchop play it with the same kind of infectious enthusiasm they display elsewhere with Morton hitting some spectacularly piercing top notes.

“The Big 4” is equally soulful and infectious propelled by Matthews tireless shuffle beat. The drummer has a short feature and there are strong contributions from Moore and especially Morton himself.

“Cold Duck Time” is an old funk classic from the pen of the late Eddie Harris (1936-1996). Harris was a multi instrumentalist, a prolific composer- “Freedom Jazz Dance” is possibly his best known piece-and a pioneer of the use of electronics and rock rhythms in jazz. Harris’ ideas were not always respected during his lifetime but his stock has risen in recent years and Morton and his colleagues more than do him justice here with an exuberant performance. Moore, excellent throughout the album, shines on Hammond and Morton turns in some typically gritty alto.

“Skit 1” is a tantalisingly brief exert from a lengthier jam and is swiftly followed by the wonderfully titled “Sometimes Shit Just Goes Down Like That”. It’s not quite as full on as the title might suggest but instead is slyly funky and insidious with Morton and the bluesy Ilett the featured soloists. A strongly gospel flavoured coda applies the icing on the cake.

Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child” may seem a strange choice for this kind of band but Porkchop’s soul/gospel arrangement with alto and churchy Hammond at it’s heart is both moving and convincing.

“Skit 2” is an even briefer snippet than it’s predecessor and the album ends with the FX laden “Predator”.Here dub and electronic elements are added to the mix as Morton’s alto honks above the sonic chaos in declamatory fashion. It’s all over in a couple of minutes but this nod in the direction of Polar Bear hints at further horizons for Porkchop to explore in the future.

Morton has stated that it’s the aim of Porkchop to “eliminate the introspective and self indulgent elements that some “jazz” music can often adhere to and bring the music back to the people”. Well, some of the stuff I’ve covered on this site is probably anathema to Morton but I have to say that I do love this record. The groups urgency and enthusiasm shines throughout and the production by Morton, Moore and recording engineer Rik Dowding captures the energy of their live shows perfectly. So many records in this musical area are over produced and subsequently rendered bland but Morton is having none of that. The group’s attitude and swagger shine through and there’s some great playing here with all four members excelling in their own way whilst still coalescing to create a strong group sound.

I’m not sure if this album has been officially released yet but Morton has been selling it at gigs for some time. I acquired it from him at Bristol and felt that it was high time I got around to writing about it. Morton is also an in demand player in the rock and pop world and has recently been playing with Leicester based rockers Kasabian, including an appearance at the recent Brit Awards.
Porkchop are touring later in the year and I hope to catch them again then , possibly in Cheltenham or Cardiff. See http://www.myspace.com/jamesmortonsax for details.

Earthy and exciting but musically intelligent this is a band for head, hands and feet. 

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