Jasper Høiby: Fellow Creatures: We Must Fight

Fellow Creatures is the band that bassist Jasper Høiby has assembled around himself and they are clearly a talented bunch. They would have to be, to revisit material from Høiby's previous band, Phronesis. That trio of Høiby, Anton Eger and Ivo Neame were almost hyperbolically highly regarded. A quick internet search will show how well reviewed they were, not only amongst the jazz cognoscenti, but also in the mainstream media.

Much of the material on this record was originally recorded by Phronesis. Here, Fellow Creatures play those tunes in arrangements by saxophonist and Fellow Creature Alex Hitchcock. Høiby has said in interviews that he thought the material had more to give, so conceived the idea of bringing a larger ensemble to the pieces and seeing what happened. The results suggest that it was a project worthy of everyone's time and effort.

The opener, "Lipwash" is a piece of taut, angular writing played with relative freedom, each member of the ensemble giving the impression that they are taking their own route to a common destination. The next track, "Before the Storm" shows a band at ease with each other and playing with a shared purpose and vision. The arrangements are more lush than the Phronesis originals, but notwithstanding that, you might question the point of re- working that material. Until the oud comes to the fore.

The oud is a great jazz instrument. Its timbre, with a soft attack and a fairly rapid decay, means that one note does not colour the next. It has a vocal quality which works really well in this busy setting, and the urgent, questing lines that flow from it under Saied Silbak's fingers bring out a middle eastern flavour that must always have been in this music but wasn't immediately obvious. On "Blue Inspiration," which is quite different to the Phronesis version, it sits wonderfully with Ketija Ringa Karahona's silky flute.

"We Must Fight" is maybe the strongest piece here. The more sparse setting allows the listener to appreciate the instrumental interplay of this excellent band, though ultimately it fails to reach the pitch it seems capable of. "Stillness," ironically, is a more hectoring cut, with limpid washes of flute underscoring the stabbing of Xavi Torres's excellent piano work. It is another great track.

This is an exciting and fascinating record, recorded and played beautifully. Given the title of this record, though, it is legitimate to ask if this self- professed protest record brings enough passion and anger to the table. It is hard to fault the technique or the material, especially since we have heard much of it before. If anything, the new arrangements of the familiar material highlight how harmonically cohesive they are, but the Phronesis versions seemed to have more restlessness and determination to them. More spirit. More fight, if you will.

"French," the closing tune, was one of Phronesis's biggest hitters, and here promises a big finish. The hypnotic, tumbling vamp it begins with backs off to allow Høiby room to stretch out a bit in the center. It is remarkable how little time he has given himself in the spotlight throughout. Here, he shines and the band respond by, at last, pulling out all the stops.

There are moments of visceral playing. There are moments of beauty. There are moments of threat, with occasionally portentous drum stuff from Luca Caruso. There are plenty of passages which demonstrate that the oud really is a great addition to the jazz arsenal. This is a very good record by a very good band which does not always reach the heights it promises. It is certainly worth listening to.

Maybe they have maybe been penned in a little by the arrangements. Maybe they have prioritized virtuosity over vibrance. Maybe they feel too heavily the need to add something new to this material. Maybe they are just telling someone else's story. Who knows.

The shame is that, while this record is undeniably good, it will probably be absolutely brilliant when they play it live.

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