Matthew Halsall: Bright Sparkling Light

Like an author adding a surprise epilogue when you thought the novel was all wrapped up, Matthew Halsall turns out to still have another turn up his sleeve. An Ever Changing View (Gondwana, 2023) offered the musical equivalent of a seaside creative retreat—the kind of vacation that inevitably seems too short, yet would also feel less special if it actually went on much longer. Fortunately there turned out to be enough unused material to make a complementary EP alongside the main work, and just as fortunately, it gives the experience a charming extension without reaching the point of "that's enough already."

These not-really-leftovers beautifully show the exotic grooves and spiritual calm that have become Halsall's wheelhouse (to the extent he has a consistent one), and indeed the phrase Bright Sparkling Light arguably sums up that wheelhouse as well as anything. Halsall and friends sound like they're communing with nature as much as playing instruments. His trumpet lines waft on the breeze without needing to settle into deliberate patterns. Alternating co-leads on saxophone and flute are just as vivid and just as dreamy.

The EP fades into a haze right at the start and stays in that immersive mood for almost half an hour. The airy grooves are soon joined by amiable clacks and chimes floating like scatters of sunlight on water. Appealing as the flowing melodies are, it's just as easy to soak in the little ear-pleasing tones for their own sake. Bright Sparkling Light wanders from merely dreamy to downright ethereal, full of inner joy and quaint simplicity.

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