Bill Laurance: Lumen

Five-time Grammy Award-winning pianist Bill Laurance is perhaps best known as a founding member of fusion juggernaut Snarky Puppy, but his musical reach extends much further. Whether performing as a duo with Michael League, collaborating with the Untold Orchestra, leading his own trio, or exploring solo territory, Laurance has consistently demonstrated his versatility across multiple contexts. Lumen represents his most personal album to date. As he explains, "I couldn't have exposed more of who I am than I did with this music. I used to be surrounded by a load of synthesizers, drum machines, all kinds of things, even when I was playing solo. But as an artist, I now feel ready to leave all that behind me, the idea here is to be more organic, pure, direct."

Despite his reputation for embracing cutting-edge keyboard technology, Laurance deliberately restricts himself on this recording to just two instruments: a grand piano and a piano fitted with felt dampers. The dampers create a warmer, more intimate tone, which Laurance exploits perfectly on the circular motifs of "Mantra." Beyond the instrumental choices, the album's character emerges from its recording environment: St Faith's Church in Dulwich, South London. Working often into the early hours and isolated from external distractions, the church created the ideal conditions for his musical exploration.

Becoming a kind of musical hermit seems to have done the trick across the 10 tracks that make up Lumen. The album's overall tone is one of gentle reflection. This is shown as the opening track, "Fils Dor," unfolds from its quiet beginning to become warm and encompassing as Laurance exploits the resonance of the grand piano. In contrast, the repeating motifs of "What You Always Wanted" give the track a darker, more brooding atmosphere.

Further contrast is provided by "Dove" with its light-hearted mix of blues and hints of slowed-down stride piano. But it is a European jazz aesthetic that prevails and this reaches its height in the gorgeous melody of the standout track "Treehouse" as the piano cascades and chimes as the classically trained Laurance completely obscures the margins between jazz and classical.

Lumen stands as Laurance's finest solo work to date, seamlessly weaving classical elements into his distinctive melodic language. Throughout the album, he allows the church's spiritual atmosphere to guide his improvisational explorations. While Laurance will undoubtedly continue exploring new soundscapes with various ensembles in the future, this album reveals a stripped-down and personal statement.