Loose Grip

“Looking Glass”

(Fabrikant Records 0003)

Loose Grip is a multi national Edinburgh based quartet led by expatriate Canadian drummer Chris Wallace. The group’s début recording was released in April 2010 and appears on the Scottish independent label Fabrikant, also home to the acclaimed Haftor Medboe Group. Joining Wallace are American bassist Sean Pentland and two of Scotland’s leading jazz musicians tenor saxophonist John Burgess and guitarist Malcolm MacFarlane.

Recorded with financial assistance from the Scottish Arts Council the album features distinctive cover art by Hans Hoekstra and features the compositions of Wallace exclusively. The nine selections range from the muscular and angular to the impressionistic. The group sound is highly contemporary with Wallace citing the playing and writing styles of John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter and Dave Holland as sources of inspiration. These are seriously heavyweight names and it’s to Wallace’s credit that “Looking Glass” transcends the sum of its influences as Loose Grip produce a distinctive group sound in their own right. Wallace’s compositions strike the right balance between experimentation and accessibility on a record that is moderately challenging (for this listener at least) but eminently enjoyable.

The album opens with “The Fool’s Confidence”, a good introduction to the Loose Grip sound. Wallace’s supple, forceful drumming frames solos from the powerful Burgess and the more thoughtful MacFarlane. This is complex, knotty stuff with odd meter rhythms and grooves, similar to the kind of gritty post bop purveyed by the group’s named influences but still with a strong identity of its own.

“Out Of The Box” which begins with Wallace alone at the kit offers more of the same with Burgess, a band leader in his own right and a stalwart of the Scottish jazz scene contributing a typically robust tenor solo. MacFarlane’s solo is again more ruminative and there’s also something of a drum feature for leader Wallace backed by MacFarlane’s insistent guitar chording.

The lengthy “Nomad” offers a more impressionistic, cinematic approach with MacFarlane beginning on acoustic guitar before moving on to electric to provide the shimmering, ethereal backdrop to Burgess’ slow burning tenor. The track unfolds in leisurely fashion with Burgess and MacFarlane’s solos long lined and unhurried. Wallace and Pentland offer sparing but sympathetic support.

“See Double You”, which I assume is a play on the composer’s initials, gives more prominence to drums and bass on this cerebrally funky, blues inflected piece. MacFarlane and Burgess stretch out with typically fluent solos and Wallace again features himself in the tune’s closing stages.

The loping “Just Ride” seems to to combine the group’s two main approaches. Cinematic in length and with some excellent solos from both Burgess and MacFarlane the piece is delivered in the group’s drily angular style with Wallace and Pentland supple and fluid throughout. 

“Downstream” is one of the album’s most intriguing tracks. A tricky, Ornette-ish theme allows Wallace to dictate from the drums with Burgess also performing well. MacFarlane conjures up exotic background sounds with a range of pedal generated effects. Interesting. 

“The Alchemist” continues in the by now recognisable house style and is followed by “Pleasantries”  which begins in an impressionistic, almost free, manner before one of the album’s strongest melodies emerges. Here Burgess is warm and effusive, MacFarlane cool and elegant and Wallace effervescent on a series of drum breaks.

The album closes with the title track, a dedication to Wallace’s partner Fredau that sees the group reaching into almost ambient ballad territory. At times the piece sounds as if it wouldn’t be out of place on an ECM record and includes the only real feature on the album for the unassuming Pentland. MacFarlane’s spacy guitar recalls John Abercrombie at his most atmospheric and it’s left to Burgess to add a degree of urgency as the tune develops a smouldering intensity in its closing stages.

“Looking Glass” is an ambitious album that contains much excellent playing from the members of the quartet. The contrast between Burgess and MacFarlane is continually interesting and Wallace and Pentland eschew any rhythmic clichés as they lay down some tricky and demanding grooves for the soloists to negotiate.

If there’s a criticism it’s that too many of the pieces sound the same. A wider dynamic and stylistic range would have benefited the album and with no track coming in at much under six minutes it’s arguable that some of the individual pieces are rather too long. Nonetheless Wallace has set his sights high as his list of influences shows. Let’s hope that he can continue to keep Loose Grip together and that the band will continue to develop.

Wallace is also involved with other projects including his role as drummer on “Devotion” the 2009 solo album by violinist Vicky Fifield of Basquiat Strings. Currently he is also a member of the trio NeWt featuring trombonist Chris Grieve and guitarist Graeme Stephen. NeWt have recently released their second album, a collaboration with Berlin based saxophonist Silke Eberhard . The album appears on the F-ire Presents label and I’ll be taking a closer look at it in due course. 

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