This latest release on the F-ire Presents imprint is the eponymous début by Mandorla, the band led by saxophonist Carlos Lopez- Real. It’s a varied collection showcasing Lopez- Real’s versatility as a writer and features a high quality core group plus a smattering of distinguished guests.

Joining the leader, who features here on both alto and soprano, are guitarist Justin Quinn (Bakehouse, The Teak Project), bassist Oli Hayhurst (Zoe Rahman, Gilad Atzmon),  pianist Simon Colam and Fraud drummer Ben Reynolds. It’s an impressive line up and guests include F-ire luminaries Ben Davis, cellist and leader of Basquiat Strings and the prolific trumpeter Tom Arthurs, currently the BBC’s New Jazz Generation Artist. The young Berlin based singer Fini Bearman appears on two tracks featuring Lopez- Real’s setting of two poems by the recently appointed Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy- though I suspect Lopez- Real had chosen Duffy’s work( the poems were first published in 1993) long before her appointment. 

The music on “Mandorla” is culturally diverse and draws on a number of sources for inspiration. Lopez-Real has played with John Mayer’s Indo Jazz Fusions, explored Latin music with Roberto Pla and Toto Puente as well as working on more obviously jazz orientated projects, among them Quinn’s Bakehouse group. He cites Steve Reich, Bjork, Bheki Mseleku and John McLaughlin as influences. In other words “Mandorla” fits well into the F-ire aesthetic, open minded and culturally aware but delivered with a spirit of adventure and considerable technical skill.

Aside from Duffy’s words “Mandorla” is comprised of wholly original material by Lopez-Real. The album commences with the title track, played by the core group with features for Lopez-Real’s alto,  Colam’s tumbling piano and Quinn’s delicate acoustic guitar. It’s a highly inventive composition full of changing dynamics and unusual instrumental voicings. An intriguing start.

“Valentine” is the first of the vocal pieces with singer Bearman and cellist Davis augmenting the group. Davis’ melancholy cello is prominent in the arrangement with Bearman’s vocals coming from the Norma Winstone school. Indeed Winstone is one of several seasoned jazz performers who have expressed their approval of the album. 

“Amelie Moments” begins as a bright and breezy outing for Lopez-Real on soprano in which he proves himself to be a talented, highly melodic improviser. Colam shares the instrumental honours with a flowing solo but once again the piece has a twist in the tail as it enters more abstract territory in it’s later stages before seguing into the beautiful slow ballad “Jyoti”. Hayhurst’s rich lyrical bass tones are featured here together with uncredited wordless vocals presumably by Bearman. The whole piece has a floating, ethereal quality about it; light as a feather.

The next two pieces add trumpeter Tom Arthurs to the front line with “Sleep On It” featuring some sparkling dialogue between the leader and his guest. The brief but joyous “Rageshri” is just as fine driven by an infectious township groove. It’s all over far too quickly I could quite gladly have listened to some more of this. 

Next up is “JK” with Colam on Rhodes but the piece is mainly a vehicle for Lopez-Real’s biting alto and Quinn’s stinging Wayne Krantz influenced solo. The piece seems to blend consciously retro 70’s fusion with contemporary influences to produce highly satisfactory results.

The lengthy “Kitchen Dance” explores similar territory, reminiscent sometimes of Weather Report. Lopez-Real’s playing is assured and fluent with Colam soloing imaginatively on Rhodes as the tune shifts gear part way through. 

“Prayer” is the second setting of Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry and once again Davis’ brooding cello is prominent in the arrangement. Jazz musicians seem to have a particular affinity for Duffy’s work. In 1996 the singer Eliana Tomkins issued “Rapture” ,an entire album of interpretations of Duffy’s words adapted from the poet’s book of the same name. Among the musicians appearing on the project (which is reviewed elsewhere on this site) is one Ben Davis on cello. Incidentally the two pieces on “Mandorla” do not overlap with the Tomkins album. They are drawn from a different collection, 1993’s “Mean Time”-a title that may account for the subliminal spoken word voice reading the shipping forecast that permeates the arrangement on this track. A word of praise here for singer Bearman who adds both gravitas and emotion to the piece whilst dealing with what must be some pretty difficult stuff technically and Lopez-Real who selflessly sits out his own arrangement. The overall effect is bleak but moving. 

The brief “Aries” continues the subdued mood with Arthurs’ velvety tones now the dominant voice duetting with the leader’s delicate soprano.  This segues into “Fireflies (4.30 am.), a wonderfully atmospheric piece with a real pictorial quality. Colam’s shimmering Rhodes and Reynold’s deft percussion shadings add to the air of fragile beauty. Arthurs is sometimes spoken of as being influenced by Kenny Wheeler and certainly there is something reminiscent of Azimuth’s gentle lyricism here.

“Mandorla” is an excellent début from Lopez-Real and one that demonstrates his skills as a player, writer and arranger. He covers an impressive range of moods and styles but does so in a wholly organic way, nothing sounds forced or wilfully eclectic. The playing from all concerned is highly proficient and a relaxed, quietly adventurous quality permeates the music. Lopez-Real exhibits a real melodic sense and there are many moments of real beauty here. The album and band are aptly named; the “Mandorla” on the cover is an ancient symbol denoting the interaction between two superficially different worlds something this group and the F-ire collective as a whole are particularly adept at. The only minor quibble is that Duffy’s words are not reproduced on the album cover but ,as with Tomkins previously, I suspect copyright issues may be involved here.

Lopez-Real is also the founder of the new e17 Jazz Collective ( the membership intersects with both the Loop and F-ire collectives), a group of musicians whose members appear regularly at The Rose and Crown pub in Walthamstow. The “Mandorla” album will be launched there on 21st May (Jon Scott replaces Reynolds on drums) with further dates around the country to follow. To buy the album and to check out tour dates visit http://www.carloslopez-real.co.uk

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