Clearly a big achievement and among the best, most fully rounded, records I have heard this year. Without being too fanciful there’s even something of an ‘Albatross’ Peter Green freedom quality to John Parricelli’s guitar line on opener ‘Lost in Glow’ – in other words a sound so startling it stops you in your tracks – on this latest from saxophonist Kasper Rietkerk.
From the Netherlands and part of the UK jazz scene since his time at the Royal Academy of Music, The Happy Worrier is dedicated by altoist Rietkerk to the memory of record producer Martin Hummel who died of cancer earlier this year and who was such a champion of new jazz talent.
Full of originals shaped around a core quartet, Rietkerk, Parricelli, Polar Bear double bassist Tom Herbert whom we liked on Lophae‘s debut earlier this year and newcomer drummer Jonah Evans who was on Rietkerk’s earlier album The Island, rising vocals star singer Rebecka Edlund adds a lot of ideas to the experimental ‘Scream For Silence’ of which there are two versions where Edlund reminds me on the first, which is quite baroque, of the playbook of Brigitte Beraha – who is on the upcoming Unified Theories – and even more Lauren Kinsella of Snowpoet on the second, much more intensely ululatory version.
Chamber jazz in essence there’s a painterly quality to Rietkerk’s sax playing. But he does open up to blow when the direction is more energy laden and he can soar on the crest of the surging impetus of the waves of sound Evans’ ride cymbal work creates.
There’s an intense high register anguish to the balladic sax line on ‘Missing Out on the Important Stuff’ which is one of the big achievements of the album and where Parricelli’s guitar is gently lapping in arpeggiating accompaniment. Here in tandem with in this portion of the album a Lars Danielsson-like Herbert there are echoes of the guitarist’s work on the magic of Trio issued last year by ACT.
Parricelli opens up more and is a bit more rockist on ‘Blueberry Pancake’ which means the mood isn’t all elegy although it can be sombre and intense (most of all on the alternate version of the vocals number).
I liked the buoyancy and Parricelli soloing on ‘Mayfly’ – again that floating Peter Green-like balm – and the long sax lines on the first version of ‘Nimbus,’ the tune gradually unfolding its Mediterranean-esque charms. The CD comes with bonus tracks including another version of this piece.
Rietkerk, Parricelli, Herbert and Evans play the Pizza in Soho on Wednesday night. The Happy Worrier is out on 27 June.
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