Jazz breaking news: June Tabor, Iain Ballamy And Huw Warren make ECM debut as Quercus
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Folk singer June Tabor is set to follow the widespread critical acclaim she received for her work with the Oysterband on last year’s Ragged Kingdom – jointly winning the BBC Folk Award for Album of the Year 2012 – by teaming up with ECM-signed saxophonist Iain Ballamy and highly respected Welsh pianist Huw Warren in the form of a new trio, Quercus.
Released on 31 March on ECM, their self-titled debut promises be one of the year’s most rarified cross-genre collaborations, with the stripped-back voice, sax and piano setting allowing Tabor’s storytelling gifts to shine, it explores verse penned by the likes of Burns and Shakespeare spun across atmospheric arrangements of traditional folk songs and original material.
Taking advantage of the minimal instrumentation the trio move from exposed solo vocals to mournful voice and sax unison lines through to lush chordal layers, with Warren’s piano creating subtle chamber-style orchestrations of folk reels and reclaimed standards. Ballamy and Warren expertly handle the subtle blend of jazz and folk sounds, effortlessly weaving lyrical improvised solos into the mix without breaking the music’s unique spell. Timeless themes such as courtship, love and death are sensitively explored on pieces such as Robert Burns’ ‘Lassie Lie Near Me’, the tragedy of war on A.E. Housman’s ‘The Lads in Their Hundreds’ as well Warren’s stunning ‘Tears’ and a completely reworked take on Ballamy’s ‘Floater’ from the second Food album, Organic and GM Food. The trio also tour on a short run of gigs: The Stables, Wavendon (14 April); St George’s, Bristol (25 April); The Sage Gateshead (27 April); Arts Centre, Warwick (29 April); and LSO St Luke’s, London (30 April).
Jazzwise talks to June Tabor and Iain Ballamy in the forthcoming April issue – click here to subscribe and get a free CD.
– Mike Flynn