Gary Brunton: Gwawr
Author: Robert Shore
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Emil Spányi (p) |
Label: |
Juste Une Trace |
Magazine Review Date: |
August/2024 |
Media Format: |
CD, DL |
RecordDate: |
Rec. date not stated |
Gary Brunton’s last album, Trên Dydd, took listeners on a musical train journey of sorts – the title is Welsh for ‘Day Train’.
On the cover of the follow-up, the Burnley-born double bass player and composer is pictured plucking at his instrument between railroad tracks, so there’s continuity here. Indeed, the release revisits three cuts from its predecessor. It’s deeply autobiographical, imbued with Brunton’s love of Wales and the rhythm and sound of the Welsh language. It revisits scenes from the leader’s Burnley youth (‘Ramsbottom CC’, ‘Lansdowne’), riffing on family memories (‘In the Paddock’) and exploring episodes and themes of loss and resilience (‘Fort Steven No. 5’, ‘Tim’s Tune’). It’s movingly written and beautifully played, with fine improvisatory verve (‘Energy Master Loc’), and nicely supplemented with takes on Steve Kuhn’s ‘Poem for No.15’ and two Sidney Bechet numbers, ‘What a Dream’ and ‘Chant in the Night’, the latter featuring soaring soprano sax lines from François Jeanneau and meaty drumming by Andrea Michelutti.
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