David Preston: Purple / Black Vol. One

Guitarist David Preston, one third of Preston-Glasgow-Lowe, has previously released two recordings with that trio, exhibiting an intense fusion-based style. He is often found sharing on-stage credentials with musicians such as Emma Rawicz and Melody Gardot. For Purple / Black Vol. One, his debut recording as leader, he has opted for a simpler, more distinctive soundscape which emphasises atmosphere and texture.

Despite this change of style, Kevin Glasgow remains as electric bassist and they are joined by two names which bring a sense of excitement to any recording, pianist Kit Downes and drummer Sebastian Rochford. The duo has been collaborating for a long time, most recently on the excellent A Short Diary, (ECM, 2023), reviewed here.

The opening track, "O. Winston," named after the pioneering railway photographer, O. Winston Link, begins with Glasgow's bass ostinato and Rochford's exhilarating drumming providing a relentless groove for Preston and Downes to build contrasting textures with their neat interplay. "Cassino Dream" is a hybrid of rock and jazz, and begins with the type of synth sound often associated with the '80s, before soaring guitar runs and rippling piano coil around Rochford's articulate rhythms.

"Urtext" is a short reflective interlude of gentle guitar and piano, before the title track slowly builds a sense of unease through effective guitar and piano combinations. Keyboards, organ and Rochford's mallets thicken and darken the texture. The abstract "Blues for Klemens" builds a dark soundscape through broken strands of piano and guitar melodies. In contrast, "Salem Ascending" has a gentle and optimistic melody. Downes provides an expressive solo while Preston's guitar phrases bring an Americana feel and may bring to mind Bill Frisell or Daniel Lanois.

The brief but powerful "Prison Lullaby" is sparse, edgy and foreboding. That feeling is expelled by Downes' gentle repeating piano figure on "Shades of Shibuya." Another Glasgow bass ostinato underpins the contemplative "VHS Poem." This slowed-down version of a Preston-Glasgow-Lowe track allows Downes and Preston to take a right note, right place, approach which allows the track to shimmer.

The straight-ahead feel of "Susie Q's" gathers pace as cascading piano and bluesy guitar build the melody into an uplifting ending to the album. The small group interplay is intelligent and perceptive, capturing the poetry both of minimalist atmospheric tracks and the more up-tempo. Preston's imaginative song-like structures are compelling. His playing is thoughtful and imaginative and exhibits significant refinement in both sombre and intense moments. The good news is that this recording session generated enough material for two albums, so there should be more melodic invention from this quartet to look forward to in Vol. Two.