Special Jazz Blend (OUT NOW!): the CD

Description

Special Jazz Blend: the CD

With

Gabriel Keen: electric piano

Eric Rupert: bass

Chris Gale: drums

Carl Orr: guitar

Rory More: organ

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Special Jazz Blend

…and then out of the blue I got a call from some cat from The Aldevis Tibaldi Band, “Hey, wanna check the latest cut?”

And that, my friends, is the last you will hear of any old jiving jazz talk for this album leaves behind the 50s flavours of their last album, ‘Twentysix Three’ as they whizz forward to the funky soul times of the 1970s which they mix up in their own idiosyncratic way.

They definitely have a “thing”, this band. I suppose it begins with the music itself, all written by Aldevis. Somewhat different from before. There are tastes of all sorts of places and times and doffs of the cap to myriad sources; Messiaen for one, apparently…I missed it. Lean and tight. It feels really alive.

Sterling work from Chris Gale on his gorgeous sounding kit and Eric Rupert on electric bass. The both of them pinning down some very tasty toe-tappers. Stops and starts, a dynamic range that lifts and swirls the spirit. Chris has a way of making things sound easy…I suspect they are not. It is a consummate performance. And those fills! Eric, who is new to the outfit, must have been born in a school for prodigious funksters; he dives in and out of his home territory but is always on. He always grooves. The bubbling undercurrent that also draws the ear.

The Rhodes is a great addition. Beautifully played by Gabriel Keen; he sits, waits and supports with his extremely deep inventiveness and then weaves his way superbly through his solos and all the while there is something just a little bit dangerous underlying it.

Actually that is so for all of them. It buzzes with the electricity of an un-over-rehearsed band and quite apart from the delicious nature of the whole it is this element that really leapt out and captivated me. You know when a band has a tune that they have played for days on end and it eventually homogenises into something safe and lacklustre? Well there is none of that here. Listening to these tracks feels as though I have just watched the bandleader walk in, place the charts on the stands, nod to the engineer who signals that the record button has been pressed and away they go; hanging on, minds and fingers working tirelessly as they feel and find their way. It is the very essence of jazz.

Part of this experiment is the extremely funky guitar of Carl Orr adding yet another flavour to the mix. It is another welcome addition as he adds chops and more to take the band to new places. It is incredible the difference that he makes. And then a Lowrey teased into beautiful life by Rory More. Isn’t it strange how just the sound of an instrument can evoke so much? Rory fits in so well; suggesting and pulling and adding icing to an already well-nourished cake.

And then there is Aldevis. He is a deeply able musician and I hope he won’t mind me writing this but none of what he does sounds ‘clever’. It sounds fresh. Very immediate. Extremely listenable. Tuneful, with a profound sense of harmony and harmonic invention. I have no doubt that if you analysed it, huge thought will have gone into its construction so if you are an intellectual jazzer, knock yourself out. And if you are like me and you like a good tune built on some seriously sinewy  foundations then give it a spin. Or a click. Stick it on, it’ll make you feel good.

This is a very different animal from the last album. It oozes the mastery that musicians who don’t just understand their instruments but understand ensemble playing. Support, embellish, hold back, blossom. Forget electric cars, these days the Aldevis Tibaldi band are also electrically powered and their electrons will take you further than a 1959 Aurelia Spider. 

Maybe this is the magic ointment that we all need for these unusual times.

Julian Stewart Lindsay