French born guitarist Bratoeff’s most recent album “Mindscapes” is one of my favourites of the year to date. A founder member of the F-ire Collective the album represents his fifth release and is a strong candidate for his best yet -I also have a high regard for his previous effort, the electronica influenced “Points Of Perception”- and the chance to see the “Mindscapes” album line up in Cardiff was too good to miss.

Joining Bratoeff in the quartet were tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip, brilliant young drummer James Maddren plus long term Bratoeff associate Tom Mason on double bass. As is so often the case with jazzers by the time they get to tour an album they’ve invariably got another record’s worth of material written already, creative lot that they are. Bratoeff is no exception and thus tonight’s two sets were a mixture of tunes from “Mindscapes” plus newer, as yet unrecorded material. To these ears the new pieces were well up to the standards set by those on the album and it’s to be hoped that the quartet get the chance to record again soon. 

Café Jazz is a strange place. Although there was a good listening crowd in there was also a constant hubbub from the diners at the rear of the venue. The noise was particularly distracting during ballads and in the main Bratoeff took the wise decision to emphasise the rockier side of the quartet’s repertoire. I had a prime seat near the stage so most of the time the extraneous noise wasn’t too much of a problem and the fact that the guitar/saxophone frontline sometimes made the group sound like a jazzier version of my long term favourites Partisans was something of a bonus.

The quartet began with a lively new tune entitled “Pertinence” which featured lightning unison lines from Bratoeff and Hanslip above the clatter of Maddren’s sticks on rims and Mason’s powerful bass groove. Hanslip soloed first blowing soulfully above Bratoeff’s choppy guitar chording before the guitarist followed him with a typically slippery solo. Bratoeff is a fine single note soloist but he also has plenty of chordal ideas and uses his range of electronic effects tastefully. On his recent duo album “Chapters”, made with drummer Chris Vatalaro, I compared Bratoeff’s playing with that of Bill Frisell. In person and in a quartet context he comes across as very much his own man, highly fluent and with lots of sophisticated harmonic and rhythmic ideas. He has developed a highly original style on the instrument and I was hugely impressed with his playing throughout.

“Bird Dance”, the joyous opening track on “Mindscapes” began with Bratoeff’s solo guitar intro which developed into a fluid and feverish solo as the rest of the group kicked in. In a much altered and expanded version of the tune Hanslip and Mason also made strong solo statements.

Another new tune “A Song Frame” upped the rock influence and housed powerful solos from Bratoeff and Hanslip, the saxophonist blowing hard over Bratoeff’s rapid comping and Maddren’s powerful, bomb dropping drumming. Having hitherto seen Maddren in piano led combos it was good to witness another, more forceful side to his playing. He’s clever, tasteful and restlessly inventive but tonight’s gig showed that he can rock out too when required. As Bratoeff enthused afterwards “this guy is world class!”. It’s an opinion that many others are coming round to and he’s still frighteningly young. Maddren’s potential is enormous.

The ethereal ballad “Ephemeral Light” suffered badly from the racket at the rear of the venue. This was a shame as it’s a gorgeous tune and the playing was excellent. Bratoeff’s solo guitar introduction was full of lush, rich chording and delicate single note embellishments. Mason’s woody, resonant bass solo over Maddren’s brushed accompaniment was another delight with the bassist then picking up the bow to play rich, dark arco bass in the company of Hanslip’s fluttering tenor. Excellent but marred by outside factors.

The quartet closed the first half with “Fallen Colossus” also sourced from the “Mindscapes” album.
With it’s strong melodic hook and tricky bop inspired runs it’s one of the most arresting pieces on the album. Bratoeff ended his scintillating solo with a flourish, inviting the applause of the crowd.
Hanslip followed him in typically assured fashion but the real scene stealer was Maddren with a colourful and powerful drum feature, circumnavigating his kit above the backdrop of Bratoeff’s sparse chording. 

The second set began with “Frost Bite”, another new tune that was something of a feature for Hanslip. The saxophonist stated the theme before launching into a powerful solo with the group in sax trio mode. Bratoeff, clearly enjoying what his colleagues were doing signalled his approval with yelps of delight. Eventually Hanslip also dropped out leaving the way clear for an absorbing drum/bass dialogue between Maddren and Mason.

As Bratoeff prepared to introduce the next piece Hanslip commandeered the mic and announced that there would be a slight delay before the next tune as “Tom has to cut some dead skin from his fingers”. I think it’s called “suffering for one’s art”. During the brief hiatus that followed Bratoeff filled in gamely by telling the tale of his last visit to Cardiff-on a school exchange visit when he was twelve. With the stricken Mason restored to duty the quartet embarked on the lengthy “Meanders”, a new tune and one of the stand-out pieces of the evening. The tune has exactly the kind of cinematic qualities its title suggests, opening with Mason’s melancholy bowed bass intro and solo before Bratoeff took over, really rocking out in conjunction with Mason and Maddren as the three switched into power trio mode. Hanslip’s tenor solo was positively anthemic as he blew long, graceful lines over Bratoeff’s rock chords. Stirring stuff and very well received by the Cardiff crowd.

“Once In A Lifetime” offered more conventionally jazzy guitar, warm soulful tenor and a solo from Mason. It was something of a staging post before the episodic “Transition” another “journey” type tune and the longest cut on the recent “Mindscapes” album. The interplay between Bratoeff and Hanslip was excellent with the leader turning in an epic, rock influenced solo, arguably his best of the night.

To close the quartet played “Pluton N’est Plus” also from the “Mindscapes” album. The tune is Bratoeef’s lament for Pluto, written in response to the planet’s downgrading in status to that of an asteroid. The piece framed solos from all four members of the group and ended an excellent evening of music on a high note.

Catch Bratoeff if you can. He’s a highly original guitarist and an increasingly mature composer. The tunes on “Mindscapes” plus the newer pieces heard here are uniformly strong and the album is strongly recommended. This is clever,complex music but it’s also melodic, readily accessible and not at all “difficult” for the listener. The hand picked band serve Bratoeff’s compositions well and Maddren, in particular, seems destined for great things.

I was tempted to dock stars in view of the evening being marred as an event by the actions of others but decided against this as the band gave their all and clearly enjoyed the evening despite the distractions. And I have to say that witnessed from close quarters the playing was absolutely terrific.

blog comments powered by Disqus