This latest release on the Jazz Services imprint in co-operation with 33 Records features the young alto saxophonist Seb Pipe and his band Life Experience. Pipe is joined by similarly talented young musicians Arthur Lea (piano and Fender Rhodes), Phil Donkin (acoustic and electric bass), and George Hart (drums).

Pipe is interested in world/folk musics as well as jazz and he also has a thorough grounding in European classical music. The eleven tunes on this album reflect this, covering a wide geographical and stylistic range in a largely original programme. Pipe’s music has won the endorsement of the influential Guardian jazz critic John Fordham who has provided the album’s informative liner notes. 

Life Experience start their musical journey in Japan with “Yonetsu” or “Residual Energy”. Hart’s odd meter drum groove provides the platform for Pipe’s tightly concentrated alto explorations. Lea and Donkin both deploy the electric versions of their respective instruments adding a kind of counter groove to Hart’s drum pulse. It’s tricky, interesting stuff that ingeniously morphs into “Yo Tico” the band’s take on the classic Brazilian dance tune “Tico Tico” written by Zequinha de Abreu in 1917. Pipe takes his inspiration from a recorded version by the great Charlie Parker and adds a few twists of his own. The mood is celebratory and features a pounding solo from Lea on acoustic piano and some dynamic drum fills from Hart. 

“Fortran” is inspired by the name of the French village where members of Pipe’s family live. It lowers the temperature without ever quite becoming a ballad and is a leisurely feature for Pipe’s distinctive alto. Lea’ lyrical work on piano features too with Donkin and Hart providing sympathetic and receptive support. The drummer’s eye for detail is particularly praiseworthy in another excellent display.

Despite the rather academic sounding title “Balance And Contrast” is a brief burst of concentrated energy. Incredibly the melody was inspired by Bach but the feel is more New York. Pipe’s alto bites, Donkin’s electric bass and Hart’s energetic drumming mesh to form a propulsive groove and Lea’s tumbling piano features strongly in the central section. The tune ends with Pipe’s energetic scat vocal that hints at both rap and Indian music. It’s fast and brash but chock full of ideas.

“Dice” is more reflective, centred around interlocking alto and Rhodes lines but the urgency of Hart’s drumming ensures that the piece never runs the risk of becoming becalmed. Donkin is featured on double bass, demonstrating his considerable fluency as a soloist. 

“Manintal Din Sig” is based on a field recording of a traditional Romanian folk tune discovered by Pipe on the internet. The tune survives intact but Pipe and his colleagues give it an unmistakably contemporary edge.

“Omnipresence” is an essay in an exercise in delicate, abstract balladry that recalls the ECM sound but without the solemnity. It’s quietly beautiful but possessed of sufficient energy to sustain the listener’s interest throughout. 

The lengthy, edgy, shuffling title track sounds both urgent and celebratory. With a title derived from Chinese philosophy and a Latin flavour it’s a perfect example of Pipe’s pan-cultural approach to music making. Lea excels with a rollicking piano solo fuelled by Hart’s busy drumming. The piece closes with an engrossing dialogue between Pipe’s alto and Donkin’s double bass.

“Encoding Within” and “Divine Serenity” are both excursions into ballad territory; the first dark, brooding and sombre the second altogether lighter and more lyrical in tone. Like the earlier “Omnipresence” each is a quiet delight.

The album ends with a brief reprise of “Balance and Contrast”, a feature for the interlocking drums and electric bass of Hart and Donkin. The rhythm section excel over the album as a whole, handling some tricky parts with aplomb with Hart also particularly impressive in the way that his subtly energetic and detailed drumming adds colour to the music.

Pipe himself is a distinctive alto saxophonist with a fluent technique and a light tone. He certainly isn’t a Parker clone and is developing a unique voice on his instrument that filters the thoughtful approach of Lee Konitz through the more contemporary sound of Pipe’s former tutor Steve Coleman. 

“Shoot For The Stars” is aptly named as Pipe is clearly an ambitious writer who is not afraid to mix and match his influences in his search for something truly individual. In an album that is overflowing with ideas not everything works. Some of Pipe’s themes are not particularly memorable but there is no doubting his intelligence, ambition and potential. I also find the Rhodes sound somewhat irritating at times but maybe that’s just me.“Shoot For The Stars” is a bold and very respectable album but I suspect that there are even better things to come from this talented young musician.

The album can be purchased directly from Pipe’s website www.sebpipe.com

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