Angle Shades – Twirler

Efpi

Angle Shades is the new moniker for the Richard Jones Trio whose previous album, itself entitled Angle Shades, was a joyful take on the jazz piano trio format. A couple of years has passed and the trio of Richard on piano, Joshua Cavanagh-Brierly on bass and Johnny Hunter on drums has re-entered the studio to see what further magic can be summoned.

That same playful approach Richard injects into his piano playing finds him trading strict rhythmic meters on one hand with a swirl of random patterns on the other on opener “Locked In Zoomland”. Johnny’s drums are a tumbling sideshow that marks the disparity between Richard’s circular figures and the freeform extras. It is almost like two players on the same keyboard.

A pattern may start but when it starts to break down, the disparate drums and sturdy bass only complicate matters further. Thankfully, the bass seems to act as a cushion upon which the other two throw their ideas in some instances or just comfortably wrestle in others. Spare droplets of sound unfurl in an oddly romantic but slightly hesitant manner on “Not For You”. It is contemplative, but constantly looking over its shoulder.

The slow, gradual drums arrive well into the track, whereas they fill the air like surf on “Spin Loose” as Richard’s pretty motifs are picked out and considered. There is a sense of thoughtfulness here; of studied deliberation as the bass offers gentle suggestions before being swept away in a flurry of notes like an ebb and flow of tides fighting a whirlpool.

The bass is cavernous on “The Mild Mannered Are The Mortal” and here the proceedings are deep and dark, with a melancholic figure structured in perhaps a more straightforward way. The piano’s pretty dance is eventually followed by the bass, alternating between strident and delicate with the sense of the string’s vibrations ringing in the air. I was reminded of some of Keith Jarrett‘s more contemplative wandering moments and that is no bad thing.

In other places, Richard’s playing can be confounding, as if there is something in his mind’s eye that he is pursuing. It is his own logic and gives the impression he is trying not to fall into any traps. Thankfully the rhythm section is on the same wavelength, and there are moments where the drums and piano are almost duetting. While this is happening and you listen deeper, you realise the bass is actually leading them, its gentle propulsion never setting a foot wrong.

Twirler is an effusive and idiosyncratic collection of pieces that only cements the connection between the trio. It is a lovely push on and their interplay can only grow.

-Mr Olivetti-