ALATI: Ascending The Morning

Although combining poetry and jazz can sometimes be as thankless as mixing oil and water, ALATI has come up with a near perfect formulation. On Ascending The Morning, the three piece band, led by Norwich-based trumpeter Chris Dowding and completed by vocalist Brigitte Beraha and pianist Dave O'Brien, sets to music eight nature-inspired poems by Oxford Professor of Poetry Alice Oswald. Dowding brings a lyrical sensibility to all his projects, such as the free improvising brass trio Hard Edges and the evocative minimalism of Hymn—heard on Silence, Then Birds, (Confront, 2019)—so the simple appealing melodies he supplies here elicit no surprise.

O'Brien's spare piano largely carries the tunes, but the transparent backdrops manned by just the keyboard and trumpet allow the words to shine. Their prominence is helped in no small measure by the wonderfully expressive voice of Beraha, by turns airy, vulnerable, sensuous and forceful. She skillfully expands or contracts the text to hug the contours of the music. Brief solos emerge between the verses, often from Dowding who, though waspish on "Birdsong For Two Voices," more often suggests what Ben Webster might have sounded like had he picked up a trumpet, as his notes dissipate into puffs of air.

The eight cuts break down into four blocks of two songs apiece, linked by passages in which the principals cut loose from their moorings yet remain mostly consonant, Beraha's floating vocals eddying fluidly through rapids and around obstructions. Some of the most affecting moments arrive when reiterated verse meshes with insistent motifs, such as the conjunction towards the end of "In Water," but the varied settings from the rhythmically compelling "Sea Poem" to the pensive, lilting "Seabird's Blessings" hold interest throughout in a captivating and mellifluous outing.

As well as the usual forms, the album is also available in an attractive booklet which includes both the text and the scores alongside beautiful illustrations by Morris English, and artwork made in a children's workshop, organised by the Norwich-based charity Musical Keys.