Just as significant a release all these years on as the pianist’s classic album The Language of Truth from the 1990s proved.
A new studio album by British jazz pianist and composer Julian Joseph marks the influential London jazz icon’s first trio studio recording with bassist Mark Hodgson and drummer Mark Mondesir in decades. Julian turns 60 later this year.
The album combines Joseph’s original compositions with key standards from the jazz canon, presenting his distinctive mix of swing, lyricism and contemporary harmonic language.
A live version of the superbly swinging ‘My Brother’ may be viewed on YouTube. Another of the three JJs, brother James who manages the pianist, worked closely with Julian in the production of the album.
The track list includes new pieces such as ‘Faith,’ ‘My Brother,’ ‘In There With You’ and ‘Loyalty and Insight’ alongside interpretations of ‘Do Nothin’ ’Til Ya Hear From Me,’ Wayne Shorter classic ‘Footprints’ complete with a beautifully gauged freshly composed introduction, ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It,’ ‘Nature Boy’ and a Caribbean flavoured reading of ‘Caravan.’
Irish singer Ken Papenfus, a northerner, who hails from Downpatrick in County Down – recall the baggy friendly Relish’s much loved Wildflowers and a Tristan and Isolde collaborator with Julian on his jazz opera performed a decade ago – guests in a Stevie Wonder-esque vein on ‘Ponto de Meditação’ (‘Meditation Point’).
A pleasure from start to finish then digging deep into the body and soul of jazz – what a very strong statement full of character all this is.
It’s been too long since we have heard a fresh new album from the master. This remedies that lack and addresses it with an abundance of sheer élan.
And it’s no wonder Joseph with his fully intact and empowering grasp of Mulgrew Miller-esque gravitas and poise as just 1 element of his style portmanteau has influenced so many important new generation players, notably Olivia Dean pianist Deschanel Gordon and Sultan Stevenson today.
This latest is just as significant as his classic album The Language of Truth from the early part of his career and a potent reminder of the ongoing 1990s revival from leading players (Courtney Pine, Cleveland Watkiss, Iain Ballamy, Django Bates, Nikki Yeoh, Ian Shaw, Tim Garland, Jason Rebello) of that remarkable largely pre-Internet generation who have so much still to say and whose artistry has deepened inexorably since.
