Jazz breaking news: Aquarium Launch Their Debut Album At The Vortex
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sam Leak teamed up with Kit Downes Trio bassist Calum Gourlay and the Golden Age of Steam's James Allsopp plus Troyka’s Joshua Blackmore for the London launch of their debut Babel label album Aquarium at the Vortex in Dalston last night.
The band also known as Aquarium, led by pianist-composer Leak who spoke softly without a microphone, is nonetheless one that relied at least on last night's evidence on a momentum conjured up by James Allsopp here preferring tenor sax to bass clarinet. Leak fingertipping the keys in an elegant fashion that complemented Allsopp’s Phrygian modal developmental sections nonetheless delivered, his runs involving satin textures underpinned by Gourlay’s round woody sound.
The Gourlay/Allsopp interplay was where the action was at in the first set while Leak’s contoured contrapuntal forays in the second meant a change of emphasis. There was a surprising number of ballads in the choice of songs and each set had a very still dream-like beautifully breathed and ranged feature spot from Allsopp. Aquarium is clearly a band with a lot of promise.
– Stephen Graham