Hayden Chisholm

“Breve”

(Pirouet Records PIT3081)

Hayden Chisholm is a New Zealand born alto saxophonist and composer who is now resident in Germany following his studies at the Music School in the city of Cologne. Winner of the German broadcaster SWR’s Jazz Prize in 2013 he is currently the “Improviser in Residence” at the 2015 edition of the long running Moers Festival held in Cologne.

Chisholm will turn forty in May and has enjoyed a productive musical career that has resulted in many recordings as both a leader and a sideman and readers are directed to his website http://www.haydenchisholm.net for further information.

“Breve” is the title of his leadership début for the German Pirouet record label but is also the name of his chamber jazz trio featuring fellow Kiwi Matt Penman, resident for twenty years in New York City and one of the Big Apple’s leading bass players. The group also includes the UK’s own John Taylor (piano) who holds a teaching post in Cologne. Founded in 2007 the trio’s playing was captured on an earlier concert recording “Live at Plush” (Moontower Foundation, 2013) but “Breve” represents the first studio documentation of their music.

Chisholm has played other instruments including soprano saxophone, clarinet and melodica plus the Indian shruti box but for this album sticks exclusively to his main horn, the alto saxophone. Doubtless this is due to the trio’s striving for a pure, unadorned sound with the focus on pure musicality and the relationships and interplay between the group members. In this exposed, drummer-less situation the smallest musical gestures assume greater significance and importance and the nuances of colour and texture are essential to the trio’s creative process and to the group aesthetic as a whole. This is chamber jazz at its most delicate and a reflection of Chisholm’s immersion in both jazz and classical music.

The programme consists of nine original compositions, six from the pen of Chisholm, two by Penman and one from Taylor. Proceedings commence with Penman’s “Patche”, the title a made up word, but not quite an anagram, containing some of the initial letters of the trio members. The piece sets the tone for the album as a whole, pastoral and unhurried with Chisholm adopting a clear, pure, high tone on his instrument that makes it sound almost soprano-like. His gossamer like playing slides gently around Taylor’s sparse but sensitive piano accompaniment. Taylor is a master of playing in such pared down situations as evidenced by his work with the trios Azimuth and Meadow and his playing in duos with the saxophonists Stan Sulzmann and Julian Arguelles. The pianist is given the opportunity to express his lyricism as the lead instrument and there’s also a brief cameo from Penman’s bass but on the whole this is a beautifully calibrated, carefully controlled collective chamber jazz performance  

Chisholm’s “Barely a Moon”,  or as stated on the press release “Barely a Moon Old” takes its title from an earlier poem written by the composer. His alto essays an aching lyricism that is matched by Taylor’s lightness of touch at the keyboard whether as accompanist or soloist.

“Tinkerbell Swing” steers the music away from the lush, classically inspired pastoralism of the first two pieces and into a more swinging, obviously jazz area. Chisholm’s tune is named for the “faerie” in “Peter Pan” and imagines how she might “swing”. The music itself swings lightly and effortlessly and incorporates a sparkling solo from Taylor above Penman’s springy, subtly propulsive bass. Meanwhile the composer’s lithe alto retains the purity of intonation that defines his playing.

Penman’s second offering is “The Elf of Plants”, a gently reflective piece introduced by Taylor at the piano that unfolds slowly and gradually over its five minute duration. The composition includes an extended feature for Penman’s melodic bass underpinned by Taylor’s sympathetic piano chording. Chisholm adopts a slightly warmer tone on alto but with no loss of precision or clarity

The title of Chisholm’s “Augmented Waltz” is a literal one, the tune is described as a simple waltz using the augmented fifth. Taylor introduces the piece with a typically lyrical passage of solo piano. The addition of sax and bass bring a gently quirky momentum to the piece and there’s a particularly nimble solo from the admirable Penman. Chisholm’s alto displays a feathery agility and the whole piece is really rather charming.

The punning title “Pass a Cage, Lea” denotes a classical passacaglia transposed to a jazz setting with Penman’s bass ostinato at its heart and with delicately probing solos from Taylor and Chisholm.

Taylor’s “So It Goes” features a typically attractive melody allied to Taylor’s customary harmonic sophistication on a piece that draws on folk and classical forms as well as jazz. There’s another excellent melodic bass solo from Penman alongside the peerless playing of the composer and the feathery caress of Chisholm’s alto.

Chisholm’s “Inebriate Waltz” is the album’s second examination of the form and is described by its composer as “a slow waltz composed for the early hours of the music when the crowd is starting to sway back and forth”. There’s more immaculate interplay between Chisholm and Taylor and a flowingly lyrical solo from the latter but little that hints at the debauchery inherent in the title.

The closing piece “Fly” is described in the accompanying press release as “the art of the jazz ballad at its apex”. It’s an undeniably lovely piece with a beautiful and highly memorable melody, the kind of piece that has the potential to appeal to an audience beyond the usual jazz demographic.

“Breve” is a lovely album, beautiful even, with tightly controlled and disciplined performances and the record is an undoubted success upon its own terms. However it could be argued that it all sounds a little bloodless, many of these pieces are inspired by classical music as much as jazz and there are few examples of genuine swing. Chisholm’s flawlessly pure alto tone is similar to that of a classical saxophonist, sometimes sounding like a soprano and becoming almost flute like at times. Most jazz listeners would probably prefer to hear a few more blue notes. Nevertheless there’s no denying the skill and artistry of these performances and its always a delight to hear the great John Taylor play.  However the record lacks the impetus and variety of, say, the Meadow album (“Blissful Ignorance) upon which also Taylor appears. 

 

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