Neon Quartet

“Subjekt”

(Edition Records EDN 1036)

The acclaim accorded to Stan Sulzmann’s Neon project is one of the most heart warming stories of British jazz of the last few years. A stalwart of the UK scene for over forty years saxophonist Sulzmann has always been a criminally underrated musician despite working extensively with luminaries such as Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Gil Evans Mike Gibbs, Michael Brecker, Gordon Beck, Marc Copeland, Nikki Iles, the NDR Big Band and many more. Sulzmann is also a skilful composer for both small groups and large ensembles, the latter documented on the big band album “Birthdays, Birthdays” (Village Life 1999).

Neon was first conceived as a trio back in 2006 with Sulzmann joined by young whiz kids Gwilym Simcock (piano) and Jim Hart (vibes). This line up recorded “From Here There ” (Basho Records, 2007), a well received album comprised of excellent original compositions and some brilliant and sometimes surprisingly extrovert playing. Sulzmann’s young charges seemed to have succeeded in drawing their notoriously diffident leader out of his shell with often thrilling results. The original Neon quickly gained an excellent reputation for the quality of their live shows, something that has been maintained by the current four piece edition of the group.

The departure of the increasingly in demand Simcock saw him replaced by another brilliant young pianist and composer, the equally versatile and imaginative Kit Downes. Sulzmann also saw fit to expand the group with the addition of a drummer, the supremely adaptable Tim Giles. With Hart still in tow the freshly constituted Neon Quartet moved to Edition Records and released a superb second album, “Catch Me”, in 2010. Reviews of the first two Neon albums plus an account of the Quartet’s superb 2011 live performance at The Edge Arts Centre in Much Wenlock can be found elsewhere on this site.

“Subjekt”, the Quartet’s second recording for Edition exhibits further signs of progress. The group includes three significant composing presences and the programme sees Sulzmann, Hart and Downes contributing two pieces each alongside an inventive re-working of the Thelonious Monk classic “Bye Ya”. The new album sees the group adding extra elements to their often complex but always accessible music with Downes also appearing on Hammond organ. There’s an even greater willingness to explore colour, texture and layering with the group’s sound often resembling that of Claudia Quintet, the innovative New York band led by drummer John Hollenbeck. At Much Wenlock the Claudia influence was particularly striking with Hart admitting that his composition “Cloak And Dagger” (from “Catch Me”) was partly inspired by Claudia’s layering techniques. However it’s possible that the seeds for Neon were planted a long time ago, I seem to remember a far off radio broadcast in the late 70’s or early 80’s (probably introduced by Peter Clayton) that featured a Sulzmann group including the piano of Tony Hymas and the vibes of Frank Ricotti. As I recall the music bore something of a resemblance to that of Neon, Sulzmann’s germ of an idea may well have come to full fruition many years later. Does anybody else remember this? Comments please.

Fast forward and it’s Hart’s “Maison Musique” that begins the new album, emerging from a freely structured opening for vibes, organ and percussion. Eventually an insistent, slightly sinister piano figure emerges above which Sulzmann blows long, seductive tenor sax melodies, subsequently stretching out as his younger colleagues add exotic, complex, ever evolving rhythmic currents just below the surface. There are equally imaginative solo contributions from Hart and Downes on a well written piece that achieves just the right balance between composition and improvisation, a hallmark of Neon Quartet’s music, and a quality that is perhaps derived from the group’s “just right” mix of youth and experience.

If there’s something of the Claudia sound about the opener Downes’ “Mother Hen” takes things a step further with Hart deploying the eerie shimmering sound of bowed vibes, a technique favoured by Claudia’s Matt Moran. Contrast is provided by the warm sound of Sulzmann’s tenor, very much rooted in the tradition despite the contemporary situation he finds himself in. Following the slightly brooding intro a more playful feel emerges with Sulzmann soloing at length above the buoyant rhythms generated by vibes, drums and keyboards. The piece ends as reflectively as it began in another well structured composition. Each writer brings imagination and intelligence to the table, qualities that are expanded upon by the group’s intuitive improvising skills.

Downes also contributes “Buster’s New Tail” (almost certainly a feline reference, Kit’s a cat lover), an elegant ballad like performance from Sulzmann above the subtly shifting rhythmic patterns of his colleagues. Hart adopts a similarly warm tone on the vibes and Downes’ own contribution is also supremely lyrical.

Sulzmann’s first offering with the pen is the cheekily titled “New Balls” (I assume it’s a tennis reference) but the music is less playful and more reflective than the title might suggest. Hart’s delicate solo vibes provide a beautifully lyrical introduction and initially the mood is sustained by the thoughtful contributions of Downes and Sulzmann, with Giles’ providing receptive and delightfully detailed commentary throughout. However during the course of Sulzmann’s increasingly muscular tenor solo the mood changes and the music really takes off to reveal just how powerful Neon Quartet’s music can be.

Hart’s “Springs And Neaps” ebbs and flows like the tides of its title. The composer’s opening vibes solo is almost pianistic in its inventiveness, Sulzmann’s saxophone teases and worries before establishing a greater degree of assertiveness above a typically inventive rhythmic background.

It’s to the Quartet’s credit that they manage to find something fresh to say about Monk’s much covered “Bye Ya”. Downes and Giles excel with their sparky dialogue on the intro with the pianist channelling Monk’s spirit into a thoroughly contemporary context. Sulzmann on big boned tenor sounds as if he’s having a ball exploring Monk’s music in this setting and the playing of both Hart and Giles is restlessly inventive with the pair enjoying a dazzling mid tune extended exchange of ideas. This is music that goes beyond mere tribute or homage, Neon Quartet truly make Monk’s tune their own.

The album signs off with Sulzmann’s elegiac, almost hymnal “Ruskin’s Retreat”, its gentle grooves enlivened by the lustrous sound Hart’s vibes and the warm tone of the leader’s tenor.

More diverse and emotionally involving than its predecessors “Subjekt” represents a further progression for this brilliant quartet. The six original compositions are all excellent, richly varied and well constructed with strong narrative qualities, and the group bring also bring a refreshing inventiveness and vibrancy to the music of Thelonious Monk. Each member makes a superb individual contribution but the Quartet’s real strength is how brilliantly they combine as a team, sharing melodic and rhythmic duties on this complex, often dazzling, perpetually shifting, but never overtly “difficult” music. Sulzmann seems to thrive in the company of these still young lions of the UK jazz scene, relishing the challenges their collective levels of adventurousness set for him. He celebrates his sixty fifth birthday in 2013 but on this evidence is currently making the best music of his life. 

   

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