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John Taylor was one of the most prolific pianists to record in British jazz. By the time he died in 2015, he had released 18 albums as a leader and appeared on nearly a hundred more. His work with Kenny Wheeler and Azimuth confirm him as a superb accompanist while credits ranging from duo recordings with American heavyweights through to UK rock band Soft Machine and scat singer Cleo Laine indicate his adaptability and range. This engrossing trio recording, recorded live in Birmingham in 2002, reveals the strong musical personality at his music’s core.
Taylor combined the harmonic mists of impressionism with focused single-note lines, delivering that blend with a freewheeling imagination and firm pianist’s touch. His American accompanists here are Marc Johnson on bass and Joey Baron on drums, who were recent collaborators on a short Contemporary Music Network tour — the trio would record the well-received ECM studio album Rosslyn later that year. Quick-witted, dynamic and technically astute, Johnson and Baron confidently expand and fine-tune the mood-swings of Taylor’s fast-moving aesthetic. For nearly an hour, the trio stride purposefully, twist into fury and deliver tender asides.
The set begins with Taylor, unaccompanied, establishing the parameters of “Pure and Simple” by juxtaposing a scattering of chords with a rhythmic motif. Bass and drums enter with a surging riff, cueing a kaleidoscopic progression through fuguelike interplay, tense walking bass swing and spacious duets.
“Between Moons” comes next, an extended investigation of a tranquil mood. Here, melodic lines hover over the resonance of Johnson’s counterpoint double bass and the pulse slowly thickens and fades.
The up-tempo “Up Too Late” opens with solo piano unfurling an extended dazzle of stabbed chords, sharp-angled lines and voicings that brood ominously. Twelve minutes later, the trio fracture the blues into abstraction and fade gradually over an edgy pulse. “Tramonto”, the ballad, ambles gently and delivers an elegiac bass solo.
The set ends with “Ambleside”, at 15 minutes the album’s longest track. Packed with detail and with solos for all, the music’s grasp never lets up.
★★★★☆
‘Tramonto’ is released by ECM
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