Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Helena Kay's KIM Trio: Moon Palace

2

Helena Kay's KIM Trio: Moon Palace

By

View read count
Helena Kay's KIM Trio: Moon Palace
Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year 2015, Helena Kay is joined on her debut album by Ferg Ireland on bass and David Ingamells on drums. Kay studied for a BMus Jazz at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 2016 with First Class Honours. She was also awarded the Anjool Malde Jazz Prize for the highest jazz final recital mark that year.

The opener "L And D" is characterised by its alternately fast/slow tempos and Kay's lines being closely shadowed by Ingamells. Additionally there's the added bonus of exuberant solos by the bassist and Ireland on drums. The Latin-esque "Feijão" is a double tribute, primarily it's a heartfelt paean to the great Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim but it's also a reference to Kay's change to a vegan diet, since the Portugese title translates as "beans." "Kim" is a sprightly interpretation of the Charlie Parker number made all the more intriguing by the fact that it's effectively a duet between Kay and Ingamells on drums.

Named after the street Kay stayed in whilst visiting New York, the pedestrian pace of "Perry St" holds several surprises. No fewer than three times there's a deliberately coordinated drop-out lasting a full five seconds each time. The number is held together by its andante tempo as emphasised by pizzicato bass, and slinky tenor melody. The ensuing title track has a labyrinthine quality but is no less appealing for that. The stately head yields to a flourish of tenor deftly underpinned by bass and drums. The set concludes with Hoagy Carmichael's famous standard "Stardust," Kay playing unaccompanied here with sheer elegance and fluidity throughout the duration of the three and a half minute tune.

Track Listing

L And D; Feijão; Kim; Strawberry Terrace; Perry St; Moon Palace; Stardust.

Personnel

Harben Kay
saxophone

Helena Kay: tenor saxophone; Ferg Ireland: double bass; David Ingamells: drums.

Album information

Title: Moon Palace | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Ubuntu Music

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Harben Kay Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.