Matthew Kilner

“The Space In Between”

(Self Released MRK25CD)

Matthew Kilner – tenor saxophone, Paul Harrison – piano, Ewan Hastie – bass, Alyn Cosker – drums
with guest Paul Towndrow - alto saxophone (track 3)

“The Space In Between” is the debut album release from the young Scottish saxophonist and composer Matthew Kilner.

Originally from Aberdeen, but now based in Glasgow, Kilner studied at the University of Aberdeen. In 2023 he was a finalist in the BBC Radio Scotland Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition and prior to this had won the prestigious Ogston Performance Prize in 2019.

There is little further biographical information about Kilner to be found on line other than that despite his youth he is already in demand as an educator and that as a performer he plays regularly at jazz clubs and festivals at venues such as London’s Pizza Express Live, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and the 2023 Regensburg Jazz Festival in Germany.

A glance at his website http://www.matthewkilnermusic.com reveals that in addition to leading his own groups he also works as a sideman with artists such as pianists Maria Grapsa and Ewan Johnston, trumpeter Malcolm Strachan, guitarist Kevin Henderson, bassist Mark Hendry and drummers Nemo Ganguli and Greg Irons.

With another drummer, Richard Glassby, Kilner also co-leads the fusion quintet Anaticula, a group that also features Henderson on guitar plus Neil Birse on keys and Finley Campbell on bass.

Turning now to Kilner’s debut album which features a cast list that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of Scottish jazz. Bassist Ewan Hastie was the winner of the 2022 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year Award and the quartet is completed by two vastly experienced musicians who can be considered as two pillars of the Scottish jazz scene, pianist Paul Harrison and drummer Alyn Cosker. One track also features a guest appearance from the great Scottish alto saxophonist Paul Towndrow, who I assume has been one of Kilner’s tutors / mentors.

The programme consists of six original compositions by Kilner that are inspired by his upbringing in Aberdeen, as his album liner notes explain;

“I was lucky enough to be born in Aberdeen and to spend many years living there. All the music included on this album has been inspired by Aberdeen and its people. The stunning coastal environments, rich traditions and eclectic mix of locals have all impacted me greatly, and this album is my musical offering to those inspirations. With this album, I hope to give an authentic account of life in the North East of Scotland to those who have not experienced it. And to those who have I hope you will gain some comfort in our shared experiences as those who have lived in our wee easterly pocket beside the cold North Sea.”

Like the music of pianist Fergus McCreadie and fellow saxophonist Matt Carmichael Kilner’s writing embraces the influence of Scottish traditional folk music, a source of inspiration that can be heard in his use of melody. Kilner’s compositions feature direct, accessible, memorable melodies and exhibit a strong sense of narrative, a cinematic quality, if you will.

His album notes also offer insights as to the inspirations behind the individual tracks, beginning with “Harry The Heron”, named for a heron that Kilner’s parents often encountered during their regular walks by the River Dee during the lockdown spring of 2020..His younger brother is also called Harry and played a small part in the creation of the composition and the piece is named for both of these sources of inspiration. Paced by Hastie’s deep bass grooves the piece features the intertwining melodies of sax and piano and exhibits a pleasing quirkiness as the music moves up and down the gears, embracing fluent and inventive solo excursions from both Harrison and Kilner and with Cosker an increasingly busy and powerful presence behind the kit.

Although he doesn’t actually play on the track Towndrow was one of the inspirations behind “Ask Or Tell”, his conversation with Kilner taking place around the pivotal time that Kilner decided to make the move from Aberdeen to Glasgow. Ushered in by Cosker at the drums this medium paced piece features one of Kilner’s most memorable themes, this providing the platform for a dexterous and melodic double bass solo from Hastie and another expansive and imaginative outing at the piano from Harrison. The momentum quickens with a powerful and exultant tenor solo from the leader that includes some terrific interplay with Cosker’s drums, before the latter steers the piece home, the music coming full circle.

Also released as a single “The Lighthouse” is dedicated to Girdleness Lighthouse”, which is situated on the southern peninsula of Aberdeen Harbour. Kilner says of the place;
“For me, it’s a place of calm that I visit all year round. It’s truly one of the most special spots in all of Aberdeen”.
Introduced by a passage of unaccompanied piano this is another piece to feature a gorgeously melodic theme and one that seems to draw on a range of influences, among them jazz, folk and gospel. This is the piece on which Towndrow performs and there’s a yearning feeling to his playing as his alto dovetails with Kilner’s tenor. Both saxophonists then take flight, delivering soaring solos above the modal style rhythmic backdrop. Harrison then follows at the piano. It’s beautiful and moving, with Kilner’s love for his home city shining through in joyous fashion.

“Haar” is named for the “creeping sea fog that all Aberdonians know very well, it’s an intrinsic part of life beside the North Sea.”
Musically the piece is a perfect depiction of the chosen subject matter, with slowly rolling modal rhythms underscoring the mournful, foggy sound of the leader’s tenor sax and with Hastie’s deep bass resonances and the rumbling of Cosker’s drums all adding to the atmosphere. Harrison’s piano brings a flicker of brightness to an evocative collective performance that sees Kilner’s tenor eventually breaking through the murk shadowed by Cosker’s increasingly dynamic drumming. This is a richly atmospheric piece that rivals Jan Gaebarek for creating a sense of place, but which does so in a manner very different to that of the great Norwegian.

Of the next item, “Freehearted”, Kilner says;
“Freehearted means to be open and generous. It can also be used to describe someone who is frank, unreserved and honest”.
It is perhaps, an appropriate title for such an intimate piece, a jazz ballad that begins as a duet between Kilner and Harrison, with the leader’s warm, rounded tenor sax combining effectively with Harrison’s lyrical piano. Bass and drums arrive quietly, almost surreptitiously, but gradually help to transform the piece into something more celebratory and anthemic as Kilner’s sax soars into a higher register. Eventually the music subsides and the piece ends in much the same quiet manner as it began.

The album concludes with the title track, a composition dedicated to “the often overlooked aspects of our lives that are situated between the seemingly bigger and more important things”. The piece is testament to Kilner’s realisation of the importance of these ‘smaller things’. Picking up on the thread of the previous track it begins softly and gently before adopting an air of quiet, lyrical celebration. Like so many of Kilner’s pieces it embraces a song like structure and places a strong emphasis on folk like melody, something that feeds into the opening solo from award winning bassist Hastie. The leader then takes joyous flight on tenor, soaring above the rhythmic thermals generated by Harrison, Hastie and Cosker.

“The Space In Between” represents a highly impressive debut album from Kilner, who impresses both as an instrumentalist and a composer. As a tenor saxophonist he possesses a big, burnished tone and an impressive fluency as a soloist in addition to a skilled command of mood and dynamics. He’s also a versatile player with an ability to play in a variety of jazz styles and he exhibits the full range of his capabilities here.

As a composer Kilner also demonstrates an impressive maturity with a collection of tunes that place a strong focus on melody, narrative and contrasting moods and dynamics. Several of them have the feel of a jazz standard, resulting in a contemporary music that is somehow timeless.

Of course it helps that Kilner is aided by a superb quartet featuring some of Scotland’s leading jazz musicians. Harrison, Hastie and Cosker all shine both individually and collectively, as does Towndrow on his brief guest appearance.

But ultimately the triumph is Kilner’s. “The Space In Between” is an exceptional debut and I predict that we will be hearing a lot more from this hugely talented young musician. Let’s hope he comes south of the border to play a few more gigs in England and Wales.

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