Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Malija - Mark Lockheart Jasper Høiby Liam Noble: Instinct
Malija - Mark Lockheart Jasper Høiby Liam Noble: Instinct
For those unfamiliar with Malija's sound, it might take a couple of tracks to get used to it, but the labyrinthine twists and turns of "Kindred Spirit" manifest an accurate template for the ensuing nine tracks. The serpentine, sprightly "TV Shoes" alternates between harmonic and unison melodies and yet by the close it has resolved into a real swinger, fading into the distance.
Høiby's "Hung Up" benefits from a perceptible groove, established courtesy of an obligato piano and bass figure. Subtle pizzicato bass and delicate piano frame the background for Lockheart's soaring soprano saxophone on "Mila." Noble's "Panda Feathers" has an airy Brubeckian feel, perhaps unsurprisingly so since Noble released a highly acclaimed album of Brubeck tunes in 2009. Høiby's arco bass leads on Lockheart's lugubrious composition "Sanctuary" which is sharply contrasted by the ensuing lively "Elegantly Posh" again penned by Lockheart.
Messrs Lockheart, Høiby and Noble have again conjured-up an album of fascinating and often mesmeric tunes, all of which are seamlessly interwoven originals. As earlier drummer-less trios have proved (those led by Jimmy Giuffrewere a perfect example), these work on a different intellectual level, more cerebral and less visceral, perhaps requiring a little more attention from the listener, but in so doing yield greater dividends.
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Track Listing
Kindred Spirit; TV Shoes; Hung Up; A Wing And A Prayer; Moon Stairs; Mila; Panda Feathers; Sanctuary; Elegantly Posh; Spaced Out.
Personnel
Mark Lockheart: soprano and tenor saxophones; Jasper Høiby: double bass; Liam Noble: piano.
Album information
Title: Instinct | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Edition Records
About Malija - Mark Lockheart Jasper Høiby Liam Noble
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