Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sam Newbould Quintet: Blencathra

3

Sam Newbould Quintet: Blencathra

By

View read count
Sam Newbould Quintet: Blencathra
Blencathra, the debut album from British-born, Amsterdam-based saxophonist Sam Newbould's quintet, presents half a dozen of the leader's forward-leaning compositions and arrangements whose general point of view may be subdued, at times veering toward melancholy, but is never less than engaging. One of Newbould's strengths, even when the music is leisurely and pensive, lies in his ability to fully engage every member of the quintet in the ardent expression of its finer points. In other words, the group dynamic is superb, allowing Newbould's music to breathe, and underscoring its inherent charm on every number, even those whose perspective is less than upbeat.

To carry out his plan, Newbould assembled an international crew of topnotch sidemen from Spain, Israel, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany, who first met in 2017 at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, every one of whom is on the same page musically. Newbould's writing, influenced by the likes of Kenny Wheeler, Django Bates and Wayne Shorter, draws inspiration from a number of sources including jazz, English folk music, contemporary classical themes and progressive rock. For its part, Blencathra encompasses Newbould's reminiscences of life growing up in the mysterious yet lovely north of England.

There are seven numbers in all, with the tenebrous curtain raiser, "Ownerless Gardens," briefly reprised mid-album. Newbould's burnished alto sax is showcased on "Gardens," Bernard van Rossum's cool-headed tenor with Newbould on the more gregarious "Mode VI," which follows. The duo then combines to frame the handsome melody on "Northern Quarter" before van Rossum and pianist Tommaso Perazzo unlimber their improvisational chops. Drummer Guy Salamon introduces the bright and fast-moving "Brexit Means Brexit," which comes as close as anything on the menu to "free jazz" (but does no more than nod in that direction) before the group redeems its more introspective persona on "Blencathra" and "Sideways," on the last of which Perazzo forges another admirable solo.

Newbould writes well in a modern and accessible groove, and his teammates are astute and supportive all the way. If there's a conspicuous shortcoming it lies in the album's meager thirty-two-minute running time, which is hard to gloss over and unhappily lowers the album's over-all grade.

Track Listing

Ownerless Gardens; Mode VI; Northern Quarter; Ownerless Gardens (reprise); Brexit Means Brexit; Blencathra; Sideways.

Personnel

Sam Newbould
saxophone, alto

Sam Newbould: alto saxophone; Bernard van Rossum: tenor saxophone; Teis Serney: guitar; Tommaso Perazzo: piano; Daniel Nagel: bass; Guy Salamon: drums.

Album information

Title: Blencathra | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Sam Newbould Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.