Vega Trails: Sierra Tracks

There is something about watching the evening sunlight move across a distant mountain range that draws a response from even the most jaded soul. The colours, the shimmer in the air, the sense of scale—it is a scene made for peaceful introspection and contemplation. Sierra Tracks by Vega Trails is Milo Fitzpatrick's response to moving to central Spain from England. Portico Quartet, the band Fitzpatrick is better-known for, chose their name while playing under a portico to shelter from the pouring rain on a washed-out date. He seems to be enjoying the Spanish sunshine, albeit in a languid and slightly melancholic way.

The first Vega Trails outing was a duet with Jordan Smart of Gondwana label-mates Mammal Hands, who also features very heavily here. This record is very different in conception, with Fitzpatrick playing cello as well as bass and, in addition to Smart's almost omnipresent reeds, laying in some vibraphone, piano and a ten-piece string section, which he arranges himself.

The first track, "Largo," is named after a tempo marking and opens with a cello figure that would not be out of place in a Bach suite, but the classical allusions are never heavy handed and are balanced with a strong sense that this is music with jazz DNA. "Els" features some great tenor work from Smart which evokes John Surman in tone and phrasing. Fitzpatrick's double-stopped bass on "Murmuration" is more John Patitucci than Paganini and is beautifully played.

Fitzpatrick uses the colours in his palette deftly to create a series of cinematic tone poems. The bass/cello/piano-driven "When This Is Over" is dark and claustrophobic. Elsewhere, Harriett Riley's vibes add a subtle flavour and bring lightness and space. At its best, the blend of vibes, bass, reeds and strings is really quite lovely.

It is hard to tell how much improvisation there is these chamber jazz arrangements—probably not much at all. Certainly, there is not much that you could call a solo. Still, whether you call it jazz or modern composition, the result is a very listenable album that soothes and beguiles without ever becoming cloying. The recording and production are excellent, and the sound retains clarity even in the most densely textured passages. The closely miked bass clarinet on "Murmur" sounds splendid.

If what you love in jazz is the interplay of tension and release, then this might not be for you. There is little tension and a great deal of release. In fact, the whole record feels like one long exhale. Drama is provided by dynamics rather than harmony, the music building into gentle waves that swell and then subside. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but you might find yourself wishing for the occasional flash of harmonic inspiration and a wave that, at last, breaks.

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