NZ Music Month: Hayden Chisholm - Breve

Last month was Jazz Appreciation Month and this month is New Zealand Music Month. So I have decided to get on board and write a little on a NZ Jazz Album each week.

Hayden Chisholm - Breve (Pirouet)
Hayden Chisholm (as) Matt Penman (b) John Taylor (p) 
Recorded December 18/19, 2013.

I always look forward to new releases from Hayden, and Breve (released in March 2015) is a wonderful mix of new and slightly less new. The trio’s first release (video and audio) was on Plush Music and then partially reissued in Hayden’s box set 13 Views of the Hearts Cargo and as Breve - Live at Plush. Of the nine tracks on Breve, "Patche" and "So It Goes" (by Penman & Taylor respectively) are the only tunes that appear on the Plush concert recordings. Some of the tunes penned by Hayden also appear on earlier recordings - "Fly" and "Barely A Moon" can be found on the trio recording Fragmented Teaching (with Simon Nabatov & Jochen Rueckert). There's a vocal version of "Fly" floating around somewhere for those that want to hear it in it's stripped back (original?) form. I thought it was on Hayden's blog, but a quick search there was fruitless.

While it is not strictly a ballad album, there is a very intimate, hushed feeling, with the trio projecting a balanced approach to their collective interplay and, at times, quite a dark/introspective mood. There's plenty of nuance to tune in to - Hayden's shaping of a held note at 1:06 on "Barely A Moon" gives me a kick each time I hear it. No one is in a rush during this hour of music and even when the tempo is raised ("Tinkerbell Swing" & "Augmented Waltz") the trio maintain a relaxed demeanour. Perhaps it's the lack of drums or (more likely I feel) the trio's ability to execute Hayden's vision for this music that brings the relaxed feel and balanced ensemble sound. Either way, it doesn't really matter. During one listen through I was really drawn into Matt's work on bass. At first it was his tone the grabbed me and as the album progressed his accompaniment held my attention more and more - a great blend of support and embellishment. A couple of moments that come to mind are the way his bass lines develop during "Pass A Cage, Lea" and his conversational playing with Taylor during the piano solo on "So It Goes" (he plays a very nice solo here too). I've given the album at least half a dozen listens so far and I know it won't stop there.

Penman/Taylor/Chisholm

Recent Listening: Slowfox - The Wood

The Wood (Jazzwerkstatt) is the first release from the trio Slowfox comprised of Sebastian Gramss (bass) Hayden Chisholm (alto sax) Philip Zoubek (piano). The album was recorded in September 2013 at the Loft in Cologne and was released earlier this year.

All of the compositions are by Gramms and most of the fourteen tracks are fairly short with the longest clocking in at six-and-a-half minutes (the meditative haunting “To Keep”) and only three others break the four-minute mark. While I don’t really have too much of a problem with longer tracks, it is refreshing to have plenty of shorter pieces. 

I'm not a huge fan of prepared piano but don't mind its use in moderation - here discretion is used throughout. Its use on "Deep" sets up great groove with the bass with Chisholm floating on top. There is more subtle use of prepared piano on "But I Have" which adds to the mood, bringing things down before the return of the melody.

Those who know me know that Hayden Chisholm is one of my favourite saxophonists and musicians. I find it difficult writing about my friends but I've decided to add a few thoughts. His expressive use of bends, trills, vibrato and dynamics. The way he embraces the air in his tone – something that runs counter to many teachers thoughts on saxophone sound production. There is urgency in his higher register that popped out to me on this recording. He has explored microtonality in depth and anyone interested in microtonal concepts would be wise to check out his music (it's present on the Slowfox album). You can hear his roots in Johnny Hodges coming through in “Are Lovely.” The fleetness to his lines on the up-tempo “The Woods” and the economic approach on "To Keep" grabbed me. The effortless of it all is the high point for me. All told, he has such a distinctive voice on the horn, one that hits me on a deep personal level. 

A very enjoyable recording and I'm looking forward to future releases from Slowfox. Here's some video of the studio session and this is a 30 minute live clip from earlier in the year (sans piano).

Chisholm is part of another sax/piano/bass trio, Breve (with John Taylor and Matt Penman) who are due to release an album this year on Pirouet. The trio has a couple of earlier concerts available at Plush Music.