Pavillon

“Strong Tea”

(Pavillon Records)

Jim Rattigan is the UK’s best known jazz French horn player. He is a busy musician who is the first call on his instrument across a variety of genres including jazz, folk, pop, classical and film and TV soundtracks. The latter include the James Bond and Lord of the Rings film series.

His list of credits is mind boggling, far too lengthy to list in full here, but includes six years with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and session work with some of the biggest names in rock and pop, among them Paul McCartney, George Michael and Adele. I know him best for his work in jazz ensembles including bands led by Mike Gibbs, Hans Koller, Mark Lockheart, Carla Bley, Percy Pursglove and the late, great Charlie Haden. And as he proved with Pursglove’s “Far Reaching Dreams of Mortal Souls” ensemble he’s also a skilled accordionist.

In his capacity as a jazz musician Rattigan has released a number of albums under his own name including “Unfamiliar Guise” (2000), “Jazz French Horn” (2004), and“Shuzzed” (2010).

In 2014 I reviewed his excellent trio set “Triplicity” which teamed him with the classical violinist Thomas Gould and the acclaimed jazz pianist Liam Noble. This was a chamber jazz recording that combined moments of pure beauty with an admirable improvisational rigour.

It was his work with Mike Gibbs that inspired Rattigan to form his own twelve piece band, Pavillon. The group name comes from ‘pavillon’, the French word for the bell of the French horn.
The album “Strong Tea” was originally recorded in 2011 but has recently been re-released to coincide with Pavillon’s forthcoming Arts Council supported UK tour which will commence on 12th November 2016 at The Vortex as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.

Rattigan has said of Pavillon and the “Strong Tea” album;
“ I formed Pavillon with these wonderful musicians to perform my music and recorded the album “Strong Tea” as a 50th birthday present to myself in 2011. The compositions are very much interwoven with the personalities of the band and their musical styles. As I write I hear them playing certain themes and solo sections. I incorporate as much freedom in the music as is possible, leaving them space to express themselves”.

For the record the line up on “Strong Tea” comprises of;

Jim Rattigan – French horn
Martin Speake – alto sax
Andy Panayi – tenor sax
Mick Foster – baritone sax
Percy Pursglove – trumpet & flugel horn
Steve Fishwick – trumpet
Robbie Robson – trumpet
Jeremy Price – tenor trombone
Sarah Williams – bass trombone
Hans Koller – piano
Dave Whitford – bass
Gene Calderazzo – drums

The musicians are long time friends and collaborators and at one time Rattigan led a quartet featuring himself plus Koller, Whitford and Calderazzo.

The music on “Strong Tea” comprises of five pieces varying between five and ten minutes in length. Rattigan has promised that two new pieces, “Forever” and “Rose” will be featured alongside the album material at the ensemble’s forthcoming live shows.

Opener “Parkwood Fair” begins in atmospheric fashion with the deep, woody sounds of Whitford’s double bass accompanied by Calderazzo’s mallet rumbles and cymbal shimmers. In time Whitford establishes a melodic bass motif and the other musicians come to the party with Rattigan demonstrating his extraordinary abilities and once again confirming the validity of the French horn as a jazz instrument with a quite remarkable solo. Pianist Koller plays a prominent role in the proceedings and there are passages that feature the quartet line up alluded to above. However as the piece progresses the other horns become involved, adding colour, texture and dynamics as the composition builds towards a dramatic ensemble climax. 

“Dulwich Park” involves the whole ensemble from the start and includes some richly colourful writing for the horns that makes effective use of counterpoint. The mood of the piece is buoyant and upbeat and it includes a wonderfully agile solo from Rattigan on French horn, followed by Panayi on increasingly declamatory tenor as Calderazzo drives the whole ensemble forward. The increasingly impressive Pursglove then matches his leader for fluency with a consistently engaging flugel horn solo. 

The artwork for the album includes a quote from George Orwell that helps to give the record its name; “All true tea lovers not only like their tea strong, but like it a little stronger with each year that passes”.
The title track lives up to its name with swinging grooves, rousing big band style ensemble passages and exuberant solos from Fishwick on trumpet, Speake on alto, Rattigan on French horn and Koller at the piano.

“Won Over The Eight” is essentially a feature for the leader who again displays an awesome technical facility on the French horn, allied to a jazz improviser’s sensibility, as he solos within the context of a woozy but invigorating blues arrangement, this initially shaped by the rasp of Foster’s baritone sax.

At a little over nine minutes the closing “24/7” is the lengthiest track on the album. The swinging arrangement sounds like it’s being played by an ensemble even larger than Rattigan’s twelve piece.
The tune gives us the opportunity to enjoy the playing of three soloists we haven’t heard from thus far. Foster goes first, stretching out with great fluency on baritone. Next it’s the turn of Price on tenor trombone, his tone rounded but subtly probing. Then it’s Robson on trumpet who also plays with imagination and intelligence, as does the leader on French horn. The solos are complemented by some rousing and richly colourful ensemble passages and there’s also something of a feature for the irrepressible and indefatigable Calderazzo.

“Strong Tea” is a very different album to “Triplicity” but in its own way is equally satisfying. Rattigan’s writing is colourful and imaginative and his arrangements consistently engaging. He’s ably assisted by a stellar band that includes some outstanding soloists, all of whom impress with their contributions. But in the end “Strong Tea” is Rattigan’s triumph. Besides the quality of the writing the album is notable for Rattigan’s own playing which is bright, fluent and imaginative as well as being stunningly technically adept.

The album is a thoroughly convincing piece of work in its own right but one suspects that live performances by this all star band will take the music to another level. Try to catch Pavillon if you can at one of the following tour dates;

12th November – The Vortex, London
(EFG London Jazz Festival)

17th November – Seven Arts Centre, Leeds

18th November – Crookes Social Club, Sheffield

22nd November – North Wales Jazz, Mold

23rd November – Swansea Jazzland

1st December – Future Inn, Bristol

2nd December – Blue Orange Theatre, Birmingham

13th January 2017 – Fleece Jazz, Stoke By Nayland

14th January – Jazz Cafe Posk, London

19th January – The Spin, Oxford

More at http://www.jimrattigan.com

 

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