Threeway with special guest John Etheridge

“Harken!”

(Jazz Cat Records JCCD 120)

Ben Crosland – electric bass, Steve Waterman – trumpet, flugelhorn, Steve Lodder – piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond C3 organ
with John Etheridge -guitar

Threeway is the long running ‘chamber jazz’ trio led by the Yorkshire based bassist and composer Ben Crosland.

“Harken!” is, in part, a celebration of the group’s twentieth anniversary and sees the trio collaborating with guitarist John Etheridge, one of the UK’s most respected jazz musicians and a personal friend of all the band members. Indeed Etheridge and Lodder were part of the quintet that recorded the “Ray Davies Songbook” series of albums featuring Crosland’s jazz arrangements of classic Kinks songs. This was a project that was a huge musical and commercial (at least in jazz terms) success and Crosland toured the music widely.  The Jazzmann has reviewed both albums in the series and also a hugely enjoyable live performance by a version of the group at a Shrewsbury Jazz Network event at The Hive Music & Media Centre in October 2018.

“Harken!” represents the fourth album release from Threeway following “Conversations” (2005), “Songs Of The Year” (2009) and “Looking Forward, Looking Back” (2013), the latter featuring Jim Hart guesting on vibraphone. Both “Songs Of The Year” and “Looking Forward, Looking Back” are reviewed elsewhere on this site.

Crosland has been recording as a leader since 1993 with a variety of different line ups. Among the albums to have been reviewed on the Jazzmann are “An Open Place” (2012) by the Ben Crosland Brass Group, “Solway Stories” (2021) by Crosland’s regular quintet and the lockdown album “Songs of Solace and Reflection”, recorded by a sextet featuring bass, brass, woodwind and strings.
Crosland’s full back catalogue is available via https://www.jazz-cat.com/

As a composer Crosland draws inspiration from both people and places and several of his recordings have specific themes, most of them Northern in origin. Regional pride and a strong sense of place informs Crosland’s writing and this latest album is no exception.

The centre piece of “Harken!” is the four part “The Hark Suite”. Crosland is a former pupil of Sedbergh School, an independent boarding school now in Cumbria (though once part of Yorkshire) which will celebrate its 500th anniversary in 2025. Crosland still retains a musical connection with the School and was invited to write a suite celebrating Sedbergh’s values of Humility, Ambition, Resilience and Kindness – hence “The Hark Suite”. A further composition, “Cairnbank”, honours one of Crosland’s former teachers.

The album features two further compositions from Crosland plus further pieces from Waterman, Lodder and Etheridge. There is also an arrangement of the Joni Mitchell song “Black Crow”.

The album opens with Waterman’s composition “Welshcake”, which swings admirably, even without the aid of drums. Performed by the core trio this uplifting piece features the fluent soloing of Waterman on trumpet and Lodder on acoustic piano while leader Crosland supplies a subtly propulsive electric bass pulse. The title is an allusion to the Dexter Gordon tune “Cheesecake”.

As the name of his record label suggests Crosland is a confirmed cat lover and his tune “Billie’s Blessing” is dedicated to one of his two feline companions. A lyrical solo piano introduction from Lodder leads to a melodic electric bass solo from the composer. Waterman then adds sumptuous flugel and all three musicians enjoy the opportunity to stretch out further as the piece progresses.  There’s a warm feeling of domestic contentedness within the kind of glorious landscape depicted on the album cover, but for all this the music never tips over into blandness or sentimentality.

Etheridge makes his first appearance on his own composition “AB4BC”, or “Altered Blues for Ben Crosland”. Introduced by a short passage of unaccompanied guitar the piece features Waterman on muted trumpet and Lodder on Fender Rhodes, with Crosland supplying the fluid electric bass undertow. The interplay between Etheridge, Lodder and Waterman is exquisite and there are also strong individual solos from all three, with Etheridge sounding a little like John Scofield.

Lodder remains on Fender Rhodes for “Humility”, the first movement of “The Hark Suite”. Etheridge is still on board and delivers a fluent guitar solo, followed by Lodder on Rhodes and the consistently melodic Waterman.

The second part, “Ambition”, is more upbeat and sees Lodder returning to acoustic piano. Like the opener this is music that swings, even in the absence of drums. This is due in no small part to Crosland’s subtly propulsive bass playing, which forms the springboard for the interplay between Etheridge, Waterman and Lodder, with the guitarist and the trumpeter also breaking away to deliver sparkling individual solos.

Part three, “Resilience”, muddies the waters as the quartet prove that you don’t need drums to be funky. With Lodder back on Rhodes Etheridge delivers a fluent, blues based solo, with Lodder subsequently taking over at the keys. Waterman then follows on trumpet, deploying a mute, but still sounding fluent and incisive.

The final part, “Kindness”, offers a more gentle resolution and is a jazz waltz that features subtly blues tinged solos from Waterman and Etheridge, followed by rare solo bass excursion from the leader. Lodder is also featured on acoustic piano.

Lodder’s own “Lazy Susan” sees him returning to Rhodes on a trio piece that allows Waterman to stretch out at length, with both the composer and Crosland also featuring prominently.

“Cairnbank” is named for the home of Crosland’s inspirational music teacher Victor Brook and is a warm and affectionate tribute that features the soloing of Lodder on Hammond organ and Etheridge on guitar. It also features the leader on liquidly lyrical electric bass.

Joni Mitchell has also been an inspirational figure for Crosland and his arrangement of “Black Crow”, from Mitchell’s “Hejira” album, has been in Threeway’s live set lists for some time. With Lodder on acoustic piano combining with Crosland to create a solid rhythmic undertow Waterman is able to take flight on trumpet, followed by a dazzling solo from Lodder as the pianist is finally given his head.

Waterman’s second offering with the pen is “Lonely Streets”, a more reflective composition than the opening “Welshcake”. Played by the core trio this is a piece that features a melancholic lyricism that finds expression through the solos of Waterman and Lodder, the latter on acoustic piano.

The album concludes with Crosland’s “Lester Lopes Out” (see what he just did there), a second dedication to one of his beloved cats. A playful piece, perhaps suggestive of the animal in question, this is a subtly bluesy piece that features solos from Lodder on Hammond and Waterman on trumpet.

Threeway celebrate their 20th anniversary with another high class album release with all three members, plus their guest John Etheridge, contributing with the pen. All provide excellent offerings but as the main writer it’s Crosland’s gift for melody and his ability to evoke a sense of place that carries the day.

Also the interplay between the three (sometimes four) participants is highly developed and despite the ‘chamber jazz’ tag the music is rich not only in terms of colour and texture but also rhythm. In part this is due to the leader’s fluid and supportive bass playing but as Steve Lodder told Rob Adams in an interview for London Jazz News;
“There’s a misconception that time keeping is the drummer’s job, whereas I think it’s a corporate responsibility and that the music can have momentum and energy without a drummer.”
It’s an observation that certainly applies to Threeway’s music.

“Harken!” offers further evidence of Threeway’s delicate strengths with Etheridge adding a little guitar roughage and Lodder providing additional variety via the use of a range of keyboards. I would probably have preferred to hear a bit more acoustic piano and a little less Rhodes, but that’s a minor personal quibble within the context of another very good album from Ben Crosland and Threeway.

 

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