Karim Saber Quintet

“Sundance”

(Self Released)

Karim Saber – electric & acoustic guitars, Matt Cook – tenor saxophone, Alex Wilson – piano, Fender Rhodes, John Jones – bass, Jack Thomas – drums
with Aitzi Cofre Real – vocals (tracks 3,7,8)

“Sundance” is the second album release from this young quintet led by the British-Iranian guitarist and composer Karim Saber. The core line up is exactly the same that appeared on Saber’s debut album “Transmission”, which was released on Ubuntu Music in 2024.

My interest in Saber and his music was first piqued by a review from Jazzmann guest contributor Colin May who had seen a four piece version of the band, minus saxophonist Cook, in Oxford in February 2025. Colin was very impressed and his account of the Oxford show can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/karim-saber-quintet-minus-one-oxford-university-jazz-society-at-the-mad-hatter-oxford-12-02-2025

In May 2025 I was to catch up with Saber myself when the full quintet, as listed above, appeared at a Music Spoken Here event at The Marr’s Bar in Worcester. On the occasion of MSH’s third anniversary the Saber Quintet gave a superb performance playing a mix of tunes from the “Transmission” album plus a whole raft of what was then new material but which has subsequently been recorded for “Sundance”. My review of this event can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/karim-saber-quintet-music-spoken-here-the-marrs-bar-worcester-22-05-2025

At the Worcester show I was able to enjoy a lengthy conversation with Karim who proved to be a genuinely nice guy in addition to being a huge musical talent. I treated myself to a copy of “Transmission”, an album that represents an exceptionally mature and accomplished debut.

Karim and I have remained in contact and he was subsequently kind enough to forward me a review copy of “WAKE”, an album by the German pianist and composer Lukas DeRungs.  The album features an Anglo-German ensemble, the British contingent featuring Saber on guitar and Immy Churchill on vocals. The core line up is completed by the German rhythm team of bassist Jan Dittman and drummer Jonas Esser and the recording also features a number of guest musicians. Ambitious and accomplished “WAKE” is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/lukas-derungs-wake

Born in London of Iranian heritage Saber was first encouraged to take up the guitar after hearing the music of rock acts such as System Of A Down, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He subsequently attended the Saturday morning sessions at the Roundhouse in Camden, jamming with other, like minded, young musicians.

His interest in jazz was encouraged by his philosophy teacher who introduced him to the music of John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter – a pretty good place to start.

After leaving school Saber took a gap year and studied jazz guitar with the Australian born guitarist Carl Orr, then a prominent figure on the UK jazz scene prior to his move back to Australia.

As Saber has pointed out he had already been playing rock guitar for ten years before discovering jazz and the music that he writes for his quintet contains elements of both,  thus making the group a perfect fit for Music Spoken Here.

The current quintet grew out of a residency at the MAP Cafe in Kentish Town, north London that saw Saber’s quartet regularly joined by a guest horn player. Of these Cook displayed a particularly natural affinity for Saber’s music and was subsequently invited to join the group.

Once the band line up had been finalised the quintet quickly entered the studios and recorded the music for their debut album at the Fish Factory studio in London in April 2023. “Transmission” was subsequently released on the Ubuntu Music imprint in 2024. The album was engineered by Sonny Johns and co-produced by Saber and bassist / composer Jasper Hoiby (Phronesis, Fellow Creatures, 3Elements), the involvement of these two industry heavyweights indicative of the esteem in which Saber is held within the jazz community.

Saber’s jazz guitar heroes include big names such as Kurt Rosenwinkel and Pat Metheny but also his contemporaries on the UK scene such as Ant Law and Chris Montague, both of whom have been very supportive of him in return. Saber is also an admirer of the Dutch guitarist Reinier Baas, who has worked regularly with British keyboard player Kit Downes.

Saber’s playing and writing has been endorsed by his fellow guitarist and composer Ant Law, himself a regular presence on the Jazzmann web pages. Law provides the liner notes for “Sundance”, writing about the album from a musician’s point of view.

For “Sundance” Sonny Johns again acted as recording engineer and the album was subsequently mastered by the equally esteemed Peter Beckmann, with Saber and pianist Alex Wilson acting as co-producers.

The album commences with “Litany”, one of the then new tunes that was featured at Worcester.
Named for the “Litany of Fear” from Frank Herbert’s “Dune” novels and the subsequent film franchise “Litany” begins in impressionistic fashion with the sounds of ethereal guitar effects, melodic double bass and Thomas’ mallet rumbles and cymbal shimmers. Cook’s tenor sax emerges to state the haunting melody, shadowed by Wilson’s piano as Thomas drums up a storm behind them, his cymbals reminiscent of the sound of crashing waves on a piece described by Law as “vast and oceanic”.

At first “Purpose” appears to be more straightforwardly melodic, although Law suggests otherwise, likening the opening melody to a ‘musical question mark’. Maybe that’s true as the quintet take the music to some interesting places in their search for a resolution with tightly written passages combining with more loosely structured episodes. The music then explodes into a more forceful fusion-esque section with guitar, piano and tenor variously taking the lead in a series of fiery instrumental exchanges, all fuelled by Thomas’ dynamic, hyper-active drumming. Again I remember this tune being played at Worcester. Terrific stuff.

“Sister Song”, which was performed as an instrumental at Worcester,  is the first item to feature the wordless vocals of Cofre Real. Her voice augments one of the quintet’s most gentle and lyrical numbers with a flowingly melodic solo coming from Wilson on acoustic piano followed by the leader’s gracefully spiralling outing on guitar, a solo that Law describes as “beautiful, stately and soulful”.

Also played at Worcester “Canvas” ups the energy levels once more, albeit still melodically, with Cook’s arresting tenor sax melodies underpinned by Thomas’ rock influenced grooves. Saber then delivers a well constructed guitar solo, gradually ramping up the tension as he soars above Thomas’ sturdy drum rhythms. There’s a more relaxed episode as Jones provides a melodic and dexterous double bass solo before the quintet round things off in rousing fashion with a drum feature from the impressive Thomas.

“No Virgos” embraces odd meter grooves and shifting dynamics, concepts that are central to Saber’s writing. As a composer he likes to embrace light and shade and his pieces are also rich in terms of colour and texture and narrative feel,  qualities that this five piece group are more than able to provide. Saber writes at the piano and his compositional ideas are then developed by the whole band. Although the overall concept is that of the guitarist it’s actually a highly democratic band. Introduced by Wilson at the piano and with the leader’s guitar playing a crucial role this piece develops into something of a feature for saxophonist Cook whose solo builds from tentative probing into full on Brecker-esque wailing, fuelled by the increasingly dynamic drumming of Thomas.

By way of contrast the aptly titled “Hush” is a beautiful and lyrical ballad ushered in by an extended passage of unaccompanied piano from Wilson. Gentle guitar arpeggios and delicately brushed drums then underpin Cook’s wispy sax melodies before Jones delivers a delightfully melodic double bass solo, before handing over to Wilson once more. Cook’s sax then resumes control of the melody as the tune winds elegantly towards its conclusion.

“SCMC”, one of the few tracks that didn’t feature at Worcester, raises the energy levels again with Cofre Real’s soaring vocal melodies leading the way prior to expansive inventive instrumental solos from Cook on piano and the leader on guitar, the latter again making excellent use of his range of effects. Both soloists respond well to the forceful drum prompting from the excellent Thomas. Cofre Real returns to soar effectively towards the close.

Saber moves to acoustic guitar for the folky “Autumn”, the final track to feature the wordless vocalising of Cofre Real. It’s a duo piece that features some dazzling interplay between voice and guitar with Cofre Real deploying her extremely flexible voice as another instrument.

Title track “Sundance” is an upbeat, joyous outburst of energy, a fusion of rock influenced rhythms and vibrant instrumental colours in a musical performance that displays both power and intelligence. As throughout the album there’s some commendably tight and bright ensemble playing, further enhanced here by dazzling solos from Saber on guitar and Wilson at the piano.

The album concludes with “Reprise”, an attractive sax led ensemble piece featuring electric keyboard sounds and some distinctive drumming. It’s piece that is rather more than substantial than its title might suggest, and which is more than just a musical footnote.

“Sundance” sees Saber and the quintet building upon the success of “Transmission” and delivering another excellent album that combines Saber’s jazz and rock influences and even serves up a soupçon of folk. It’s very much a team effort with the leader’s guitar a vital part of the ensemble. Although it’s his writing and his project Saber doesn’t feel the need to solo on every track, but when he does is playing is skilful, imaginative and incisive, qualities that apply to all the musicians here. Everybody plays superbly and the quintet is also well served by the engineering skills of Johns and Beckmann.

I’ll admit that I haven’t quite made my mind up about Cofre Real’s contribution. She’s obviously a very talented singer and “Autumn” is very much a vocal and guitar set piece. But elsewhere I’m not convinced that her voice is strictly necessary, the quintet is such an excellent instrumental unit that the music doesn’t really need anything else, but having said that her soaring vocals on both “Sister Song” and “SCMC” are undeniably impressive.

“Sundance” will be officially released on Friday 30th January 2026 and is available via Saber’s Bandcamp page here;
https://karimsaber.bandcamp.com/

The album launch will be at the Vortex Jazz Club, Dalston, London on Thursday 29th January 2026. Ticket link here;
https://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/event/karim-saber-sundance-album-launch/

 

 

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