Alan Dearling shares some thoughts and photos
About every three months it is time for another blast of Modern Jazz at Sunday Easy in the Trades Club, Hebden Bridge. Featured live artists for this session were the Nathaniel Taberner Quintet. Mellow, elegant musical vibes with incendiary ‘break-out’ moments, bristling with tensions, and a nice mix of ensemble playing and solo opportunities.
Nathaniel is very laid-back with an unassuming laconic style about him. He explained to the audience that he had met his fellow musicians in Leeds during their time at the Leeds Conservatoire. He told us: “We’re playing a mix of tunes, including some of my new ones.”
Here’s a video of Nathaniel from the Leeds Conservatoire Jazz Rewind sessions:
Nathaniel’s promo material tells us that they aim to “…carve out a bold and expressive space at the intersection of jazz tradition and modern experimentation, creating a distinctive sound that blends straight-ahead jazz with contemporary post-bop, hip-hop and art rock influences.”
There were plenty changes of tempo and occasional explosive interludes punctuating the waves of soulful, almost elegiac sounds. Perhaps oddly, the more powerful moments reminded me a little of early King Crimson, but without the really mind-numbing barrage of sound typical of a King Crimson assault on the sensory system. One of Nathaniel’s new tunes is entitled ‘Echoes’, and he said it offers musical fragments reminiscent of sleep. A nice piece of composition. And throughout the set there was a real sense of immersion through comradeship, fraternity and creative and emotional exchange and interplay.
Again quoting from the advance publicity material for the gig, we are informed that, “Nathaniel’s compositional approach is defined by emotionally poignant melodies, intricate harmony and driving grooves. Through an ever-evolving musical conversation, the band explore themes of deep introspection, vulnerability and finding comfort and strength within a world of constant change and instability.
Drawing inspiration from a diverse array of luminaries, from Immanuel Wilkins to Radiohead, and artists such as Robert Glasper, Dave Holland and Joe Henderson, the ensemble crafts a unique identity, delivering charged performances that resonate with jazz purists and new listeners alike.”
This was a really enjoyable performance. The Quintet is a class act, and one suspects that the individual members are all playing with a number of other musicians and honing their respective talents. The material was of a fine quality, though some numbers left me waiting for the big finale. And the shortness of the set, well under an hour, was a tad frustrating for the audience – my friends in the audience agreed with me that they should have let themselves enjoy themselves (and us), and concluded with an exuberant bit of improvisation, even if it was based around a modern jazz standard.
