Jazz

Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - Into Forever (2015)

2017-08-12T12:58:34Z

Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - Into Forever (2015)


01. Only A Woman (ft Josephine Oniyama)
02. As I Walk (ft Josephine Oniyama)
03. Dawn Horizon
04. Badder Weather (ft Josephine Oniyama)
05. These Goodbyes
06. The Land Of
07. Longshan Temple
08. Cushendun
09. Into Forever (ft Josephine Oniyama)
10. Daan Park
11. Jamais Vu (ft Bryony Jarman-Pinto)

Matthew Halsall: trumpet; 
Lisa Mallett: flute; 
Rachael Gladwin: harp; 
Keiko Kitamura: koto; 
Taz Modi: piano; 
Gavin Barras: bass; 
Luke Flowers: drums; 
Sam Bell: percussion; 
Chris Cruiks: percussion (track 7), additional percussion (tracks 4 & 6); 
Margit Van Der Zwan: cello; 
Natalie Purton: viola & violin; 
John Purton: violin (tracks 1,2 & 11); 
Jote Osahn: violin (tracks 3, 5, 6 and 7); 
Ollie Izod: violin (track 5); 
Josephine Oniyama: vocals (tracks 1-10); 
Bryony Jarman-Pinto: vocals (track 11).

Some artists epitomise the times they live in, while others go their own way, standing apart from the herd, ploughing their own furrow. As the self-aggrandising, dishonest and downright greedy seem to gain ever greater prominence in our world, those whose work can provide a few moments of respite, refuge and reflection become more and more important—artists like Manchester's Matthew Halsall, who here releases his sixth album since 2008. On Into Forever Halsall shares the billing with the Gondwana Orchestra for a second time, indicating some continuity from 2014's superb When the World Was One and signalling a clear sense of his having found a pool of trusted musicians and collaborators for him to draw upon.

That continuity of line up is reflected in the minimal changes for these sessions, the main one being that Nat Birchall amicably sits this one out, in Halsall's words, to go in "a darker, out-there, late-Coltrane direction...." Conceptually this makes sense since the focus of the material of 'When the World Was One' was the legacy of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, the material requiring a saxophonist of Birchall's talent and melodic fire far more than the more cerebal and relaxed compositions of 'Into Forever.' That said the likes of Rachel Gladwin on harp, Taz Modi on piano, Luke Flowers on drums, Lisa Mallet on flute, Keiko Kitamura on koto and Gavin Barras on bass all re-appear and all bar Kitamura have appeared on at least three Halsall collections to date. Barras, whose fluid soulful bass playing is the foundation of many compositions on Into Forever, now has the distinction of being the only musician, other than the band leader himself, to contribute to every Halsall album to date.

While the musicians are largely constant, this is not the same as saying that Halsall is treading water. The sound here is substantially developed and it is possible that this is what prompted Halsall to keep this group of trusted collaborators around him. The headline change is the inclusion of lead vocalists Josephine Oniyama on four tracks and Bryony Jarman-Pinto on album closer "Jamais Vu" and could have mis-fired badly yet actually works well taking the music in a different direction to past albums. First impression is of a jazz take on 'Talkin' Loud' records mainstays 4Hero's stellar mid-1990s work with Ursula Rucker, but also suggests critical touchstones like Rotary Connection with Minnie Ripperton, and perhaps in its funkier moments the Art Ensemble Of Chicago with Fontella Bass on "Theme de Yoyo." You can hear the latter on the killer vocal cut "Badder Weather" where Oniyama's soulful vocal is lifted by Barras' deep bass pulse—the kick of the bass complementing the sass in the vocal. Halsall and Oniyama met while recording a commission for BBC Radio 3's "The Verb" show, which eventually became this album's title track, that felt so natural it shaped the direction of the collection. While the Oniyama pieces were collaborations for which Halsall provided either the lyrics or melodies, on "Jamais Vu" Jarman-Pinto added her lyric and vocal over the top of an instrumental piece Halsall had sent her without direction, much to the latter's apparent delight, and more than justifying her place in the line-up.

In fact the collection works so well that it takes Halsall's gorgeous trumpet on the album's penultimate track, the masterful "Daan Park," to highlight that he only plays on two of the 11 compositions. Halsall has explained this by saying that for him "every note has to serve the music I hear in my head and ...I found that the voices that best expressed my intentions, were those of my friends and colleagues..." However much we might want to hear his beautiful expressive playing, the ends displayed here more than justify the means -as an artist Halsall may have earned the trust of his audience but he knows better than to abuse it. As ever it is the whole package that is important and provides clues to the artistic intention—the sleeve of Into Forever continues the progressive absence of the band leader from the sleeves of his records that began with the shift from monochrome portraits of the first three collections to the sunset colour of the 'Fletcher Moss Park' sleeve on which he appeared in the middle distance, to one side. Since then Halsall has not appeared at all on the sleeve of 'When the World Was One' or now where the sleeve features 20 straight, block coloured, lines converging on a single central point on the horizon at infinity. If you need a visual metaphor for Halsall's step back into the collective identity of the Gondwana Orchestra and general lack of ego then this is surely it.

It is that care and attention to the music that makes Halsall stand out—he clearly thinks hard about how best to present his work to the world, what pieces will work best together for the home listener, how best to capture the sound he wants—and he does this consistently to a higher level than just about any of his contemporaries. To sustain this level of creative excellence and control over a few years would be hard to achieve, yet six albums and eight years in Halsall shows no signs of stopping with this absolutely wonderful record. Another unequivocal triumph. ---Phil Barnes, allaboutjazz.com

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Matthew Halsall - Colour Yes (2009)

2017-08-09T13:27:26Z

Matthew Halsall - Colour Yes (2009)


1.    Colour Yes 		8:40
2.    Together	 11:09
3.    I've Found Joy 	5:37
4.    Mudita 	5:22
5.    I've Been Here Before 	13:09
6.    Me And You	 6:43

Double Bass – Gavin Barras
Drums – Gaz Hughes (tracks: 3, 4, 5 & 6), Marek Dorcik (tracks: 1, 2)
Harp – Rachael Gladwin (tracks: 2, 5 & 6)
Piano – Adam Fairhall
Soprano Saxophone – Nat Birchall (tracks: 1, 3)
Tenor Saxophone – Nat Birchall (tracks: 2, 4, 5 & 6)
Trumpet – Matthew Halsall

Just gorgeous. Manchester-based trumpeter Matthew Halsall's second album ploughs the same delicate, acoustic, modal jazz furrow as his debut, Sending My Love (Gondwana, 2008). The lineup of fellow Mancunians is much the same too, with flautist Roger Wickham replaced by harpist Rachael Gladwin on three of the six tracks. Just so there's no mistaking where Halsall is coming from, the cover art is also a near-clone of that used on the first disc.

Colour Yes will delight fans of the dreamy astral jazz played by pianist/harpist Alice Coltrane, and that of saxophonists John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in their more reflective moments. Above all, it will bring a warm glow to enthusiasts for trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Bill Evans circa Kind Of Blue (Columbia, 1959). They may also be grateful that Halsall does not, at this point in his career anyway, feel the need to adopt Davis' dictum: "I always gotta change, it's like a curse." In the case of Colour Yes, more of the same, lovely, gently swinging, uncomplicated beauty is a blessing.

Halsall is the possessor of a singularly bright trumpet tone, which shimmers throughout the album free of mutes or any noticeable post-production electronic manipulation. The six tunes, all of them originals, range from the leisurely to the slow, the pace and intensity heating up only on the bouncy dance track "Mudita." On the first three tracks, Halsall sits out the first three minutes or so, allowing saxophonist Nat Birchall to state the theme and set the mood. Birchall is another joy; his soprano is pretty and nimble, and so too is his tenor, on which he favors the upper register approached from much the same direction.

It's sometimes said of a post-Bill Evans pianist that he or she places as much importance on the space between notes as on the notes themselves, and this is abundantly true of Halsall's pianist, Adam Fairhall, and his less-is-more style. It's also true of Gladwin. Avoiding the temptation simply to reprise Alice Coltrane's approach to the instrument, Gladwin replaces Coltrane's cascading waterfalls of sound with carefully picked single note phrases punctuated by block-chorded comping. Her solos on "Together" and, in particular, on the album's 13-minute centerpiece, "I've Been Here Before," are highlights of the set.

Bassist Gavin Barras and drummers Gaz Hughes (four tracks) and Marek Dorcik (two) provide unobtrusive but softly pulsing rhythms, while Hughes uses his sticks more emphatically to propel the aforementioned "Mudita" forward.

Late-night listening par excellence, Colour Yes also has depth, focus and integrity. It doesn't waste words, and it says a lot. ---Chris May, allaboutjazz.com

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Matthew Halsall - Fletcher Moss Park (2012)

2017-08-05T13:42:02Z

Matthew Halsall - Fletcher Moss Park (2012)


1. Cherry Blossom
2. Fletcher Moss Park
3. Mary Emma Louise
4. Sailing Out to Sea
5. Wee Lan (Little Orchid)
6. The Sun in September
7. Finding My Way

Matthew Halsall - trumpet
Gavin Barras – bass
Nat Birchall - tenor saxophone (1, 2, 3)
Lisa Mallett - flute (6)
Rachael Gladwin - harp (1, 2, 3, 6)
Adam Fairhall - piano (1, 2, 3)
Taz Modi - piano (6, 7)
Gaz Hughes - drums (1, 2, 3)
Luke Flowers - drums (6, 7)
Holly Simpson - violin (4, 5)
Davinder Singh - violin (4, 5)
Adrianne Wininsky: cello (4, 5)

In the small market town of Didsbury, a few miles south of the city of Manchester, lies Fletcher Moss Park. It's a little oasis of exotic greenery that contrasts with the history of the area as a heartland of the Industrial Revolution: it's also a place where trumpeter and composer Matthew Halsall finds comfort and relaxation. Halsall's fourth album, Fletcher Moss Park is a fitting acknowledgement of the meditative qualities of the park, an album full of Halsall's beautiful, spacious and spiritual music.

The first three numbers on Fletcher Moss Park were recorded in 2010 and feature all of the players from Halsall's previous release, On The Go (Gondwana Records, 2011). "Cherry Blossom" is calm, controlled and hypnotic—over Gaz Hughes' brushed drums Halsall and pianist Adam Fairhall both create sparse but lovely solos. Rachael Gladwin's crystalline harp and Barras' arco bass open "Fletcher Moss Park" before Barras shifts to a deep, pizzicato riff to introduce the tune's soft, emotive, groove. "Mary Emma Louise" is a more up-tempo number, Halsall and tenor saxophonist Nat Birchall playing in unison, Barras and Hughes driving the rhythm and Gladwin adding her flowing harp lines.

The following compositions retain the spirituality and beauty of the sextet numbers, although the depth and color which Birchall's tenor added to the earlier tunes is noticeably absent. Instead, there's the lighter, more ethereal sound of the flute and the string quartet.

The pretty, dream-like, "Sailing Out To Sea" and "Wee Lan" are performed by the string quartet of Holly Simpson, Davinder Singh, Adrianne Wininsky and Barras. Halsall and Gladwin return for "The Sun In September," in company with flautist Lisa Mallett, pianist Taz Modi and drummer Luke Flowers. Mallett's soft, warm, sound gives the tune an ambient mood. "Finding My Way," a quartet performance, features Halsall's most haunting, stripped down solo. There are also hints of his love of dance beats—Flowers' muscular percussion perfectly suits this harder groove.

Fletcher Moss Park doesn't represent a great leap forward for Halsall: it's instantly recognisable as a companion to On The Go, infused with the spirit of John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, and that's no bad thing. Like its predecessor, Fletcher Moss Park is a delight: a disarmingly charming set that re-affirms the trumpeter's talents. ---Bruce Lindsay, allaboutjazz.com

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Matthew Halsall - On The Go (2011)

2017-07-31T14:38:09Z

Matthew Halsall - On The Go (2011)


01. Music For A Dancing Mind (08:54)
02. Song For Charlie (07:04)
03. The End Of Dukkha (06:41)
04. Samatha (09:18)
05. The Journey Home (06:55)
06. The Move (05:30)

Double Bass – Gavin Barras
Drums – Gaz Hughes
Harp – Rachael Gladwin
Piano – Adam Fairhall
Saxophone – Nat Birchall
Trumpet – Matthew Halsall

Slipping under the radar this low-key reissue of Matthew Halsall's classic 2011 album should not be ignored. Why so? Well rather than just tweak the tapes for a first vinyl issue Halsall, who it appears was not completely happy with the original mix, has taken the opportunity to commission a full remix and remaster by George Atkins, and added a generous 3 previously unreleased contemporaneous tracks inspired by Miles Davis' soundtrack to Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud (Lift to the Scaffold).

So instead of a six track, 45 minute, single LP we now have a 9 track, 65 minute expanded version. Out goes the original mix credited to Halsall and Brendan Williams, along with Williams' mastering, to be replaced by a brand new sparkling mix by George Atkins. Atkins has been entrusted with the mastering of each Halsall album that followed this one and has mixed or co-mixed the last two, making him a core member of the Gondwana records inner circle. Whether the significant improvements in the overall sound are entirely the result of Atkins work or simply Halsall being clearer on his aims 5 years on, the step change from the 2011 CD was a surprise. The previous version was hardly deficient, On the Go was jazz album of the year at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide awards in 2012 after all, but it is clearly surpassed by the reissue.

So, for example, "Journey Home" adds noticeably more punch and propulsion to the sound of Gavin Barras' bass and gives more clarity on the percussion work from Gaz Hughes. Best of all Nat Birchall's saxophone feels broader, percolating into every corner of the mix and making a favourite track still better. There is evidence of attention to detail on "The Move" the final track of the 2011 configuration—now the drum ripples in the introduction under Halsall's trumpet are clearer and some general percussive detail is now audible that had previously been drowned out by cymbal. Add that level of sonic improvement to the collection's best known track "Music for a Dancing Mind" and this is the sort of record that reminds us why we all get pulled back to jazz and improvised music despite the attractions of other genres—that lightness of touch, control of pace and melody that only the very best can achieve using an instrumental format where the possibilities might reasonably have been expected to have been exhausted decades ago. The "End of Dukkha" too is much improved, the piano sound being more natural and resonant, with "Samatha" also revealing clearer harp and drum brush contributions.

The new pieces are good companions to the original album, an enjoyable, thoughtful, coda rather than additions that surpass the original configuration that was, let's face it, great to start with. Of these probably the best is "Only You" that at times evokes the dreamlike piano and bass feel of say a "Blue in Green." "Singing Everyday" has a more traditional blues derived feel with some great trumpet by Halsall, while "Breathless" is a melancholy mid-paced trumpet-led shuffle that most evokes the feel of the Miles Davis soundtrack that inspired it. The packaging of the special edition has been shorn of all recording session information so it is not possible to plot the timing of the sessions that yielded the new tracks beyond the "around the same time" steer that Halsall gives in the press release. Much of that original album was recorded in 2010 -a productive year for Halsall that also yielded three pieces that later appeared on the transitional Fletcher Moss Park collection released in autumn 2012. If three further quality tracks such as these can be found for this reissue, who can say what other gems remain interred in the Gondwana vaults?

We can be certain though, that following this album Halsall sought to explore other musical influences from the more esoteric end of jazz—Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders in particular, but also Art Ensemble of Chicago on 2015's "Into Forever." While this has undeniably made for great music—2014's When the World Was One remains my personal favourite of his many great records—"On the Go" is his most immediately accessible work for the curious jazz fan. The improvements to the sound here are significant and the added bonus of the three new tracks mean that this reissue can only be highly recommended. ---Phil Barnes, allaboutjazz.com

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Matthew Halsall ‎– Oneness (2019)

2019-10-24T12:33:37Z

Matthew Halsall ‎– Oneness (2019)


1 	Life 	
2 	Oneness 	
3 	Stan's Harp 	
4 	Loving Kindness 	
5 	Distant Land 	
6 	Stories From India 	
7 	The Traveller

Bass – Gavin Barras
Drums – Gaz Hughes (tracks: 1-5)
Harp – Rachael Gladwin (tracks: 1-2), Stan Ambrose (tracks: 3-5)
Piano – Adam Fairhall (tracks: 1-5)
Saxophone – Nat Birchall (tracks: 1-5)
Sitar – Mohamed Assani (tracks: 6-7)
Tabla – Chris Davies (tracks: 6-7)
Trumpet, Composed By, Arranged By, Producer – Matthew Halsall

A collection of unreleased meditative, spiritual jazz from the Gondwana archives in a 3xLP vinyl set

The recordings on Oneness date from Jan, March and September 2008 and were born from a period of experimentation as Halsall first began to explore the music that would provide the inspiration for his spiritual jazz recordings Fletcher Moss Park and When the World Was One. They also offer an intriguing snapshot into the birth of Halsall’s Gondwana Orchestra and feature many musicians who would go on to become a key part of Halsall’s musical journey, such as harpist Rachel Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and saxophonist Nat Birchall. The recordings sat in the Gondwana Records vaults for over a decade before Halsall felt it was the right time to share them. Asked about the recordings Halsall says:

“I’ve always treasured these recordings and loved how vulnerable, open and free they are, but I just felt they were too subtle and sensitive to release early on in my career, so I held them back until now. I also feel now is the right time to release these before I begin a fresh journey with a new bunch of musicians.”

Remarkably, the beautiful compositions heard here were all built around a simple tanpura drone sound. An instrument Halsall heard on Alice Coltrane’s ‘Journey In Satchidananda’ album and then at a later date in a concert featuring Arun Ghosh on clarinet and John Ellis on piano. “I loved the way this instrument created a sort of meditative atmospheric pulse for the musicians to work over and it had this beautiful feeling of togetherness, so after the gig I went out and bought a Raagini Shruti box featuring the tanpura drone and began to practice my trumpet over it and wrote lots of loose themes and melodies”.

The sessions that make up Oneness capture Halsall in the process of building a new band, reaching out to various musicians he’d discovered and admired on the Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds music scene. “I really liked this idea of bringing lots of musicians together from different backgrounds and was fascinated with how they would all react to each other and the tanpura drone box seemed to bring everyone together really well, it was kind of like a nice meditative icebreaker exercise for everyone to loosen up, before we got stuck into the more composed tunes I’d created, some of which ended up on the Sending My Love and Colour Yes albums”.

The album’s title, Oneness, speaks to both Halsall’s conviction that the planet should be shared equally with all of its inhabitants. That no human being or other inhabitant deserves to exist more than the other and that we can achieve far more together than against each other. And also importantly to what Halsall was aiming for musically:

“I really believe in Oneness and I’ve always loved the term ‘greater than the sum of its parts’. I could make music on my own and live a fairly isolated antisocial life, but there’s something far more rewarding about creating things with others. And for me these sessions document the coming together of lots of different musicians in a wonderfully organic soulful way to make egoless music”.

It’s a belief that continues to underpin Matthew’s music making and a message that the world sorely needs right now as we feel more divided and separated than ever. This then is Oneness, a decade in the making and well worth the wait. Enjoy! ---matthewhalsall.bandcamp.com

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