Description
In the crowded field of contemporary jazz AuB stands out on first listen. Reinventing the classic twin-tenor line up for the 21st century is a tough proposition, but top-flight UK virtuosi Alex Hitchcock and Tom Barford are more than equal to the task, not so much reviving the format as turning it inside out and upside down. For their brand new collection Folk Devils the two horns dance and dialogue over the scintillating team of Danish bassist Jasper Hoiby and French drummer Marc Michel in a series of compositions that perfectly balance complexity with powerful melody, drama with intimacy, angular post-funk with somber, spacey beauty. It's an international affair: renowned New York producer/multi-instrumentalist Morgan Guerin and London-based Italian keyboard player Maria Chiara Argiro each add their own distinctive flavors of electronic texture with subtle layers of synths, but on every track it's the saxophones that tell the story, in a constantly shifting conversation with each other and the no-frontiers rhythm players.
"It's a totally co-led band, and there's areas of overlap and areas of difference in our writing and our playing," says Alex. "I'm really into writing for specific musicians and Jasper and Marc have such strong distinctive voices." The blend of two tenor saxes with double bass and drums and the contrasting electronic textures creates a uniquely unforgettable sonic character: this is band sound, big enough to absorb the outsize musical personalities involved and meld them into a coherent whole.
Throughout the two tenor players take some devastatingly affecting solos, and the listener can hear how they inspire each other, listening and incorporating each other's language and musicality. There's no mistaking how stimulating and inspiring they find each other's company. The ensemble sections sparkle with creativity, the improvisation is inspired, and the sophistication and complexity of the writing never obscures the melodic content: "Everything is written with the aim of being singable" says Alex.
