Tim Richards Trio

“Four Aces”

(FMR Records FMRCD0730-0925)

Tim Richards – piano, Alex Keen – bass, Daniel Howard – drums

The Jazzmann was honoured to be asked by pianist, composer, author and educator Tim Richards to write the liner notes for his forthcoming trio album “Four Aces”, which will be released on the FMR record label on November 30th 2025.

I first met Tim back in 2006 at a live performance by his nine piece band Great Spirit at Warwick Arts Centre at the University of Warwick in Coventry. Review here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/tim-richards-great-spirit

Great Spirit were playing music from their 2005 album “Epistrophy”, a superb recording that gained a rare and coveted Jazzmann five star review.
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/epistrophy

I have also favourably reviewed the trio album “Shapeshifting” (2010) and “Telegraph Hill”, a 2015 recording by Richards’ six piece group Hextet.
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/tim-richards-trio-shapeshifting
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/tim-richards-sextet-telegraph-hill

My brief for “Four Aces” was to write a short account about the music on the new album with a particular emphasis on Richards’  original compositions, of which there are five, these interspersed with seven ‘outside’ pieces from a variety of well known jazz composers. More on these later.

Richards’ own album notes set the scene for this upcoming release;

“I first met drummer Daniel Howard during lockdown in 2022 when he set up his kit in the street to play outside his front door. After jamming together we invited bassist Alex Keen to join us for a gig at the Ethno Jazz Festival in Folkestone in October 2022…and a new line up for the trio was born.

Shortly afterwards we were invited to play a monthly Sunday afternoon residency at the Old Library Bar in New Cross Road, London (http://www.musicroomlondon.com) which we’ve continued for the last three years. This album is the culmination of all that playing. I hope you enjoy it!”

Well I certainly did, and my own liner notes, which address Richards’ original compositions are reproduced below;

“I’ve been an admirer of Tim Richards’ music since his days with the pioneering UK jazz quartet Spirit Level and the later nine-piece ensemble Great Spirit. I’ve continued to follow his playing with a variety of different line ups, including his six piece group Hextet and various editions of his long running trio.

“Four Aces” is his fourth release in the piano trio format. This new line-up features the lyrical bass of Alex Keen and the expressive drumming of Daniel Howard; the fresh sound of the trio positively leaps out of the speakers. The material features five impressive Richards originals along with an eclectic and well chosen selection of tunes by leading jazz composers, many of them fellow pianists.

Of the original pieces, “Four Aces” exhibits the influence of two of Richards’ favourite pianist/composers, McCoy Tyner and Thelonious Monk, while “Metaphysics”  features Keen playing the melody on bass and shows off the trio’s impressive musical rapport. The joyous “Pandeiro” is an expression of Richards’ love for Brazilian music and includes a feature for drummer Howard, as does the jaunty calypso “Island Hopping”.  The album concludes with the funky“ New Cross Blues”, a catchy soul-jazz head written during the trio’s residency at the Old Library Bar in New Cross.

“Four Aces” maintains the high standards that we have come to expect from Richards. The music, which embraces a variety of jazz styles, including Richards’ beloved blues, sounds as fresh and exciting as ever and combines intelligent writing and arranging with superlative playing from all three participants.”

Of course a full album review wouldn’t be a complete without a look at the other pieces. Richards’ own “Four Aces” and “Metaphysics” open the record, followed by an arrangement of the McCoy Tyner composition “Atlantis”, a lively and highly rhythmic rendition with the leader’s exuberant pianism brilliantly complemented by Keen’s supple but muscular bass, which comes to the fore periodically, and Howard’s consistently colourful and imaginative drumming.

Next up is a version of the well known Antonio Carlos Jobim composition “Wave”, a breezy interpretation that combines Brazilian and Afro-Cuban rhythms, with drummer Howard featuring strongly.

Unaccompanied piano opens Kenny Barron’s “Sunshower”, a delightfully melodic ballad that reveals a more lyrical and sensitive side of the trio’s playing with Howard turning in a finely nuanced and richly detailed performance at the kit. Keen delivers a melodic double bass solo while Richards brings a blues inflected lyricism to his work at the piano.

The title of “Free Spirits”, composed by Mary Lou Williams represents an unintentional allusion to two of Richards’ previous projects. Introduced by the sound of Keen’s bass it’s a vibrant and rhythmic piece that features some of Richards’ most exuberant soloing.

“Sonora” by Hampton Hawes is given a charming reading with Richards’ piano dancing around the rhythms generated by Keen’s melodic double bass, he’s also featured as a soloist, and Howard’s nimble brush work.

The Miles Davis composition “Solar” has become a modern day jazz standard and is treated to a spirited performance from the trio, with Richards’ effervescent piano soloing followed by similarly lively features for bass and drums as Howard ‘trades fours’ with the leader.

The last of the non original pieces is the Davis / Ramirez composition “Lover Man”, a much loved jazz standard made famous by Billie Holiday among others. Introduced by an extended passage of unaccompanied piano it’s the lengthiest track on the album, a blues tinged ballad close in spirit to Holiday’s famous version. Richards stretches out expansively but sensitively, Keen delivers a melodic but deeply resonant bass solo and Howard’s delicate brushwork is also a source of delight.

The album then concludes with “Island Hopping” and “New Cross Blues”, two of the tunes already referenced in my liner notes.

I appreciate that the above is rather different to my usual reviews but as I have something of a vested interest in its success this is a recording that I particularly want to bring to the attention of, and to recommend to, the Jazzmann readership. Tim Richards is one of the great unsung heroes of British jazz and this is an unpretentious and highly enjoyable album that deserves to be widely heard.

“Four Aces” will be officially released on November 30th 2025 when the Tim Richards Trio launch the album at their regular Sunday afternoon residency at the Old Library Bar on New Cross Road.

Once it has been officially released the album will be available for purchase via Tim Richards’ website, which contains links to his Bandcamp page.

Tim Richards website;
http://www.timrichards.ndo.co.uk/

 

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