James Yorkston: Yorkston / Jaycock / Langendorf

Yorkston Jaycock Langendorf is the latest trio outing from Scottish folk songwriter James Yorkston. A unique pairing that blends elements of Nordic folk, American primitive guitar, swirling saxophones, moody ambience, and a fair amount of free improvisation, the trio engages in surprising levels of interplay, despite recording their parts remotely.

Each composition began with Scottish songwriter James Yorkston improvising on the nyckelharpa. The keyed fiddle's origins date back to the 11th century, and its bowed performance and distinctive sound provide a unique base to inspire Yorkston's collaborators.

David Jaycock and Lina Langendorf followed Yorkston's improvisations with their own—Jaycock on guitars, synths, and other "things," and Langendorf on saxophone. Influences cited include the ecstatic spiritualism of Alice Coltrane, classic '80s ECM outings, and Ry Cooder's 1993 album of duets alongside Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. This new trio picks up where Yorkston left off with his Yorkston / Thorne / Khan records, which featured Suhail Yusuf Khan's sarangi in an Indian folk meets ambient jazz fusion. Yorkston Jaycock Langendorf leans into the atmospherics of that earlier project and ventures to find a quieter space.

"Opening, or Scott" unfolds like a walk through Yorkston's Scottish moors, a soundtrack to a lonesome march. On the standout "Havsström," Langendorf's sax is buried in the mix, creating an anxiety-inducing atmosphere underpinning Jaycock's contemplatively plucked chords. The saxophonist's work with her Langdorf United ensemble is an homage to ethio-jazz, and it's exciting to hear her in this new context "alongside" Yorkston and Jaycock.

"Tide" evokes grey skies and lapping North country waves—a mournful dirge carried by Langendorf and Jaycock's meandering dialogue. At times, the tension of "Tide" builds to a level reminiscent of the soundtrack work of the Faroe Islands-born Eivør.

"neither North nor South" starts as a whisper and builds to a horror movie-like wall of discordant sound centered around Jaycock's synthesizers. The Cornish songwriter's previous work includes the "retro-futuristic synthscapes" of Music For Space Age Shopping and the equally compelling Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love, where he performs alongside Yorkshire-born Marry Waterson. "Bar" is the album's most abstract offering, but even at their most avant-garde, the level of interplay from three musicians who recorded their parts independently is remarkable.

An exciting album that flirts with elements of jazz, ambient, and folk, Yorkston Jaycock a Langendorf is a beautifully dark and compelling album, and hopefully the first of many from this trio.