Mike Chillingworth: Friday The Thirteenth

London-based saxophonist and composer Mike Chillingworth is a frequent performer in many group formats in the UK and internationally. He has a distinctive and original style and is frequently found in the company of other like-minded musicians who like to expand boundaries and push through perceived barriers.

The inspiration behind the album came in a strange way. Devoted educator Chillingworth was traveling with 50 teenagers on a multi- day bus tour (perhaps not an experience he would like to repeat). Fortunately, he had an iPad and headphones and began experimenting with polyrhythms, eventually immersing himself to the point where he could translate the rhythms to his saxophone and began writing. This has culminated in the tunes found on Friday the Thirteenth.

Polyrhythms have two (or more) unrelated contrasting rhythms played simultaneously. This can be used to give the rhythm more traction and tension. Chillingworth chose collaborators who could meet this challenge and bring his songs to life, writing some songs specifically for them. Joining him in the quartet are the multi-award-winning pianist, Ivo Neame (Phronesis), bassist Tom Farmer (Empirical) and drummer Jon Scott (GoGo Penguin). Neame and Farmer have a solid understanding with Chillingworth, as they are all members of guitarist Ant Law's quintet.

The album opens with the title track, and it is quite an opening statement, with Chillingworth's sax phrases swirling around Scott's whirlwind drums. Neame's melodic piano eventually emerges before moving into improvisation. Brief melodic glimpses, rhythmic complexity and an outpouring of imagination form the basis for the track. With a similar polyrhythmic approach, "Coach Trip Special" offers a brighter and slightly less intense approach with perhaps a touch of humor in the neat group interplay. Farmer's bass solo is a feature of Steve Swallow's composition "Ladies in Mercedes," as he and Scott lay down an interesting groove for Chillingworth's sax explorations.

"Narwhal" shows a different side of the quartet's abilities with Chillingworth's plaintive sax and Neame's thoughtful improv slowly developing a dark atmosphere. "Sync or Swim" has some outstanding interplay and more fine work from Farmer. "Keep It Simple" finds Neame at his fleet-fingered probing best and Chillingworth's flowing sax just flies.

There is no denying there is a degree of complexity to this album that can take several listens to unlock, but the quartet has the knack of introducing the right amount of groove or melody to inject new interest at just the right time. Chillingworth's sax lines are outstanding, notably on "Kilter Filter," and it is an adventurous step to search for freedom of expression within apparently disparate rhythms and complex musical ideas and make it work. Enigmatic, distinctive, fascinating and well worth a listen.

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