This charming trio record features three musicians who have graced the Jazzmann site in various guises recently. “Broken Sleep” features accordionist and occasional vocalist Luke Carver Goss in collaboration with Dylan Fowler (guitar, mandocello,clarinet,vocals) and Nathan Riki Thomson (double bass, filimbi, flutes). Talented young violinist Oli Wilson Dickson also contributes to two of the album’s sixteen tracks.

Carver Goss has stated that the inspiration for the trio came from the great Argentinean accordion/bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi who once led a group with a similar instrumental line up.

However “Broken Sleep” is mercifully free of overt tango influences. The current fashion for tango and tango/jazz crossovers means that there are an awful lot of similar sounding albums out there. 

Carver Goss and his colleagues sidestep all that. They are not into creating music for dancing or exhibiting their technical virtuosity (a trap even the great Richard Galliano sometimes falls into), but instead adopt a far more impressionistic approach. The trio are more committed to mood building and their vignettes go beyond mere musical sketches to exhibit a real painterly quality.

They draw on aspects of British and European folk music, jazz, and the African elements Thomson brings to the trio. The overall emotional effect is sometimes reminiscent of a Jan Garbarek record even though the instrumentation may be totally different. Appropriately the album is released on Fowler’s Taith label (which takes it’s name from the Welsh for “journey”) as “Broken Sleep” makes for a beguiling musical travelogue. The album’s extensive and informative liner notes penned by members of the band explain the ideas and circumstances behind the writing of each tune. Many were inspired by specific geographic locations, often in Wales, and this sense of place adds greatly to the cinematic nature of the music. 

A case in point is the title track which opens the record. Like the later “The Ruins” the piece is inspired by Llansteffan castle in West Wales. In terms of mood Goss offers a depiction of the strange dream state that lies between sleep and full wakefulness. Paced by Fowler’s delicate acoustic guitar and Thomson’s woody bass undertow Carver Goss’ rich accordion chording perfectly encapsulates the mood of the moment but also evokes the grandeur of the location. It’s not an obvious album opener but helps to set the tone for the album as a whole.

The lively Simone, a charming dedication to Carver Goss’ partner features the sound of overdubbed squeeze boxes dovetailing with each other plus the first of Wilson Dickson’s contributions.

Next comes the first of three items recorded live at St. Anne’s Church, Manchester as part of the 2005 Manchester Jazz Festival.” Lullaby”, jointly written by Carver Goss and Fowler in waltz time, is used as vehicle for a little gentle improvisation with Fowler’s acoustic guitar solo a particular highlight.  As elsewhere mood and texture are everything and the trio’s explorations never stray too far from the spirit of the piece. 

Thomson spent a number of years living and working in Tanzania. This period of his life provided the inspiration for his recent solo album “Under Ubi’s Tree” which is reviewed elsewhere on this site. Here Thomson’s African experience is the basis for four improvisations on the filimbi, a simple Tanzanian flute traditionally fashioned from bamboo but now more commonly made from modern materials such as metal or plastic. Keith Hamilton’s excellent black and white photographs in the CD booklet include a shot of Thomson playing the instrument which adds greatly to the interest of the listener. The four short improvisations “Breathe” parts 1-4 punctuate the album at periodic intervals, staging posts on a musical journey. 

The final filimbi piece “Wagogo” acts as an introduction to the trio’s version of the traditional English folk tune “Rose In June”. This features Carver Goss’ lead vocal on a traditional tune first collected in 1907 and introduced to Carver Goss by June Tabor. Once again these recordings were made live at the 2005 Manchester Jazz Festival. Carver Goss is an adequate singer and a multi instrumentalist but he is most skilled on the accordion as typified on the earlier “Song”, a “song without words” designed to bring out the expressive qualities of the instrument. 

Punctuated by Part 3 of the “Breathe” series the lengthy “The Ruins” (alluded to previously) and “Six Passages” form the cornerstone of the album. “The Ruins” heightens the moods of the title track via a blend of tango and folk influences. It has the intensity of the former (but with none of the clichés) and the stirring melodies of the latter. The whole is wonderfully evocative with beautiful, nuanced playing from all three protagonists.

“Six Passages” is equally effective but comes from another source, that of collective improvisation. Less structured than “The Ruins” it still encapsulates the eerie late night atmosphere of the French crossroads from which it takes it’s title. 

Following such intensity Fowler’s “Portrait”, a Bill Evans style waltz almost comes as light relief. There is however a passion and intensity about the playing that keeps both the musicians and the listener on their toes. Carver Goss’ playing again alludes to tango but remains fiercely individual.

Fowler is also the composer of Virsi/Dawns Timo a lengthy work that is another of the album’s centre pieces. Originally written for the Finnish kantele “Virsi” (hymn in Finnish) features the interplay of the composer’s guitar and Thomson’s bass. The second half of the piece is based on Macedonian folk forms, a reflection of Fowler’s work with the Balkan group Szapora and Carver Goss’ role in the Tea Hodzic Trio. Fowler’s virtuoso guitar work is stunning throughout the piece and incorporates percussive effects from the instrument’s soundbox. The track is the final item recorded live in Manchester and Fowler’s virtuosity is warmly applauded by the audience members.

Carver Goss’ haunting “Lament” finds his droning, low register accordion evoking the sound of Scottish bagpipes in South Uist. Stirring stuff.

“Spin (For Lily)”, also by Carver Goss, utilises unusual time signatures but in an engaging manner that is never “difficult” or self consciously “show offy”. In fact it’s great fun. This type of low key virtuosity is typical of the album as a whole. The three musicians make a great team.

The album concludes with John Hardy’s beautiful tune “Towards Ramsey”, inspired by the beautiful island off the Pembrokeshire coast. It’s a lovely way to close an album that has such a pictorial quality. 

Carver Goss’ website describes his work as “acoustic music crossing boundaries” and this pretty much sums this album up. Various folk musics combine with jazz and even classical structures to create something unique and unfailingly melodic. Carver Goss brings a real expressive quality to a sometimes unfashionable instrument but never compromises his writing or playing.

This is music with a warmth and appeal that traverses musical boundaries. It’s no surprise that these musicians have been featured on the BBC Radio Three programme “Late Junction” winning the approval of presenter Fiona Talkington. Whatever your musical persuasion “Broken Sleep” is well worth your full attention.

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