Carving out a name for Chris Doherty more than anything he has achieved so far it’s another top Irish jazz album, this one from the north, to add to the overall list Call Me Jonah, I’m Geppetto has one thing in common with another on the list Golden Sunsets for the presence of keyboardist Neil Burns who adds a nuanced Rhodesy dimension.
A massive improvement on Doherty’s nevertheless good in places stylistically similar Wise Up, Wee Boy (2022) the shape, urgency and broader perspectives found on this retro 1980s jazz-rock fusion showing suits his writing far better. The key upgrade is the flair found in the drumming.
Full of robust, strong, tunes, gutsy tenor playing by Meilana Gillard and excellent drumming from James Anderson who is up there already with some of today’s top Irish jazz drummers (eg in the vanguard Steve ‘Dakiz’ Davis, David Lyttle, Darren Beckett, Kevin Brady and Matthew Jacobson) but the key thing here is that it works as a cohesive album and not just a good tune here and there.
What I mean is that the tunes make sense together, there’s a vision that doesn’t let up and there’s enough emotional bandwidth to complement the strength of the playing that lifts it from being just too muso.
The album was recorded at the Blast Furnace Recording Studio in Derry, a city where Doherty teaches locally at St Columb’s School of Music. He did his music degree and masters in composition at the University of Ulster a decade ago.
‘Ay-Va’ I reckon is the best tune for its memorable riffery and an open improvisatory feel to Gillard’s soloing. Technically gifted her playing has more in common with what Michael Buckley does on Ebb and Flow than what Tom Caraher achieves on Ninety Degrees which are the other main sax figuring new Irish jazz achievements of the year to date.
As for the title, it’s a cryptic jokey quip (accentuating the positive?) derived from a bit of Doherty’s own poetry that harnesses names like Jonah from the bible and Geppetto from the 19th century children’s story Pinocchio. And the title track is one of the slower numbers where there’s some delicate and persuasive soloing from guitarist Joseph Leighton who’s probably the biggest name on the new generation Derry jazz scene right now and also solos wonderfully on the longest track ‘Content Creator’ at the end. A new beginning. Discover Doherty today.
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