John Pope & John Garner: Water Music
Author: Daniel Spicer
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
John Garner (vn, perc) |
Label: |
New Jazz & Improvised Music Recordings |
Magazine Review Date: |
February/2023 |
Media Format: |
CD, DL |
Catalogue Number: |
NEWJAIM14 |
RecordDate: |
Rec. 2021 |
There's a certain economy and simplicity about the idea of duets for double bass and violin – and not a note is wasted in these highly satisfying encounters between these two talented musicians based in the North East of England.
Though the duo started out playing free improvisation, here they’ve struck upon the neat idea of tackling tunes by some of the more avant-garde composers in jazz. Some of these provide the opportunity to demonstrate punctilious precision in the execution of formidably tricky charts – such as Misha Mengelberg's ‘Hypoxmastreefuzz’ and Anthony Braxton's ‘Composition 40-F.’ Others create room for more fluid improvisations, as on the title track, a free ballad from Albert Ayler's last studio session.
On Alice Coltrane's ‘Galaxy In Satchidananda,’ Pope lays down a richly harmonic arco bass drone, while Garner's violin transforms into a high, Theremin-like tone before skirling like a bagpipe. In fact, Garner's skill and ingenuity are impressive throughout. On the opening track, Jeanne Lee and Perry Robinson's bluesy ‘Newswatch,’ his solo starts out with soaring phrases cleanly and clearly articulated before stretching out into a dizzying interlude of microtonal string-skronk. OK, duets are cool – but a full band playing this stuff could really burn.
Jazzwise Full Club
- Latest print and digital issues
- Digital archive since 1997
- Download tracks from bonus compilation albums throughout the year
- Reviews Database access
From £9.08 / month
SubscribeJazzwise Digital Club
- Latest digital issues
- Digital archive since 1997
- Download tracks from bonus compilation albums during the year
- Reviews Database access