Brass Mask

“Spy Boy”

(Babel Records BDV13121)

Brass Mask is a London based octet led by Huddersfield born saxophonist and composer Tom Challenger. A key member of the Loop Collective Challenger has previously been heard on disc leading his electro jazz group Ma, as a co-leader of the collaborative quartet Dice Factory and as a member of drummer Dave Smith’s various Outhouse line-ups. He also appears on guitarist Hannes Riepler’s début album “The Brave”. Challenger is also part of Smith’s Fofoulah and has worked with Red Snapper, Django Bates, the late Michael Garrick and others. He’s also currently engaged in a church organ/tenor saxophone duo with the versatile and ubiquitous Kit Downes.

Challenger formed Brass Mask in early 2012 and although it’s taken a while for the group to document its music on album it’s been well worth the wait. As the name suggests the group is comprised primarily of brass and reed players, many of them drawn from the ranks of the Loop Collective. Joining Challenger, who plays sax, clarinet and percussion we hear George Crowley on sax and clarinet, Dan Nicholls on sax and bass clarinet, the trumpet pairing of Rory Simmons and Alex Bonney, Nathaniel Cross on trombone and his brother Theon Cross on tuba with the line up completed by John Blease on drums and percussion. It’s interesting to hear multi instrumentalist Nicholls in this context after having previously only heard him as a pianist and keyboard player (his début solo album “Ruins” is highly recommended).

The music of Brass Mask is inspired by the sound of New Orleans and celebrates the influence of both the Mardi Gras Indians and the Afro American street bands on the music of the Crescent City. However this is no revivalist project, in the hands of these 21st Century young London based musicians the feel is very contemporary as Challenger explains “I took the energy and some of their melodic constructs and applied it to some of the tunes I’d started writing for the ensemble” . Challenger also cites the music of the great Henry Threadgill as a significant influence on his writing alongside the West African rhythms deployed by Outhouse and Fofoulah and his studies in the art of counterpoint with pianist Hans Koller. “It’s not like a straight up second line thing, hopefully it’s something different” says Challenger and to these ears he’s succeeded brilliantly, there’s an emotional depth to Brass Mask’s music that surpasses most New Orleans style brass band albums and performances.

The opening piece “Onnellinen” illustrates this point perfectly, there’s a a depth and sonority to the music that recalls both Threadgill and the likes of Mike Gibbs and Gil Evans. With a line up that ranges from clarinet through to tuba the colours that are available to the seven man horn section are rich and varied and Challenger’s writing and arranging takes full advantage of this to produce voicings that are rich in nuance and texture. Meanwhile Blease, assisted by Theon Cross on tuba and sometimes by auxiliary percussionists Jez Wiles and Hugh Wilkinson ensures that an underlying sense of groove is always present. Blease is responsible for all the percussion arrangements on the album and he too does a fine job, always driving the music forward but never imposing unduly.

The following “Shallow Water”, a Challenger arrangement of a traditional tune, is more obviously groove driven courtesy of Blease and Theon Cross, but the horn parts are no less colourful. The album cover doesn’t list individual soloists so it’s sometimes difficult to define exactly who’s doing what. There are excellent solos for tenor sax and trumpet here but overall it is the ensemble sound that is the most appealing and significant aspect of Brass Mask’s work, the way in which Challenger’s arrangements blend the horns together.

Challenger’s arrangement of the traditional “I Thank You Jesus” is a rousing tribute to the spirituals of the Deep South. There’s a genuine New Orleans feel to this with earthy, blues tinged horns carousing to uplifting effect. 

“Night Night” represents something a pause for breath, another example of Challenger’s colourful ensemble writing subtly driven by Blease and Theon’s drum and tuba grooves. It’s a palette cleanser before the rousing odd meter funk of “Francis P” which speeds up and slows down with cheerful irreverence. There’s a blearily belligerent tenor solo underpinned by harrumphing tuba and chattering percussion as one decides that Brass Mask must be quite terrific fun live, a precept confirmed by the recent Jazz On 3 broadcast of the hugely successful album launch gig at The Vortex on 26th September 2013.

The traditional “Indian Red” maintains the New Orleans party mood as it juxtaposes lugubrious laments and strutting street dances in genuine Crescent City style. 

The suitably insistent “Rain, Rain, Rain” mixes subtlety with groove and contains an impressive and exuberant trumpet solo plus more earthy tenor allied to some magnificent ensemble playing.

The brief “Meniscus” represents another “palette cleanser” with subtly voiced ensemble horns underpinned by the faintly menacing sounds of Blease’s mallet rumbles and cymbal shimmers.

“Wizards” is truly multi faceted, the sounds ranging from grainy bass clarinet to exotic percussion as the music embraces several changes of mood, style and pace. A lively, gently needling clarinet solo and a boldly inventive trumpet feature represent the pick of the individual contributions but overall one is left with the impression of another hugely impressive ensemble effort.

The meditative “Israfil” broods effectively above Blease’s crisp cymbal work before concluding with the gently mournful sound of accapella horns. It’s a nice contrast to the playful “Indians”, Challenger’s own homage to the influence of the Mardi Gras Indians on the Brass Mask project. 

“Don’t Stand Up” incorporates the Sabar rhythms of Gambia and Senegal and acknowledges Challenger’s work with drummer Dave Smith in the latter’s Outhouse and Fofoulah groups. Appropriately there’s some excellent work from Blease and the percussionists but the horns impress too with bravura trumpet and tenor solos catching the ear alongside Theon Cross’ astonishingly agile tuba bass lines.

The album concludes with “Zubr Dubr”, a brief but mellifluous ensemble coda. 

“Spy Boy” represents a wholly successful realisation of Challenger’s vision for Brass Mask. His colourful writing embraces a variety of moods, colours and musical styles and presents the influence of early New Orleans music in three dimensions and in a thoroughly contemporary manner.
It’s difficult to single out individual contributions but this is a fine ensemble effort with the hand of Challenger very much at the helm. This is music that combines intelligence with a sense of fun and the prospect of attending a Brass Mask live performance is enormously appealing. Let’s hope that Challenger can get the group out on the road in 2014.

Meanwhile Londoners will get the chance to hear the band for free when they play in the Front Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall at 5.00 pm on Friday November 29th 2013.

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