reviews for:THE ADDING MACHINE
| The Guardian, April 2011, John Fordham  Close on the heels of his fine, free-jazz duo album with percussionist Javier Carmona, young saxophonist Mark Hanslip makes a powerful impact on the second album by British group Twelves (formerly Twelves Trio, but now including alt-rock guitarist Rob Updegraff). The group once sounded somewhere between late-50s Sonny Rollins and free-bassist William Parker's straighter threesomes. Now they suggest, among many things, Joe Lovano's encounters with John Scofield, with the odd Bill Frisellian detour. Staccato, metallic-chord themes alternate with Hanslip's soft countermelodies; guitar and sax themes evaporate into drifting improv. On the uptempo Kerfuffle, the best track on the set, Hanslip's signature mix of cool school melodic seamlessness and Wayne Shorterish hesitancy spins over abrasive guitar chords, Riaan Vosloo's solid bassline and Tim Giles's lateral snare patterns. Though Mr Zero could perhaps use an edit, the contrast between Updegraff's rugged guitar solo and Hanslip's patient tenor development grips attention. Twelves have a real this-is-what-we-do presence and casual virtuosity to match. Jazzwise review, March 2011 Twelves put sharply intimate, free flowing group dialogue before anything else and that’s what makes this imaginative set such an enjoyable one too. The Adding Machine (Babel) Reviewed by JJ Wheeler Previously klunky Ornette Coleman-inspired acoustic trio Twelves have evolved. Somehow darker, more intense yet joyously uplifting they return with a rockier, equally melodic record. The difference? The addition of Rob Updegraff; guitarist and catalyst. Apparently seeking new territories, Twelves welcomed the new possibilities with open arms, immediately apparent on thematic guitar-based opener Many Splendoured Thing Part 1 in which the new addition raises the curtain on a new chapter in the intriguing life of the group. Mark Hanslip adds a dose of lyricism to the two-part opener, negotiating the highly improvised nature of the piece to create a winding story of beauty and rich creativity, sitting somewhere between composition and improvisation. Meanwhile, underneath bubbles the frenetic, deeply grooving palette of rhythm provided by Tim Giles. Clicks and scrapes follow thwacks and pings as the distinctive drummer entices more than your average sounds out of his instrument. A plethora of tones emerge, constantly engaging with and augmenting the spectrum of sound emanating from the rest of the group. Further still, Riaan Vosloo, almost exclusively supportive rather than explosive, bobs and bumbles in the background, providing the base upon which everybody else is free to explore. His highly acoustic timbre alleviates the grating guitar tone with vigour, retaining the group’s awareness of their own heritage. But what is most brilliant about this record is how these individual voices congregate to create such a unified encounter. Whilst many would expect such strong identities to clash or even jostle for position, somehow Twelves have the wonderful ability to complement and take joy in each other’s contribution, creating a richer, wholly fulfilling experience for both musician and audience alike. London Jazz Review by Chris Parker With the addition of electric guitarist Rob Updegraff, the former Twelves Trio have not only become Twelves, but have beefed up their sound, making it rockier and more hard-hitting in the process. Bassist Riaan Vosloo explains that the original trio, touring on the back of their first album, kept finding themselves playing to rock-oriented audiences, so 'learned to "put it out a bit", and to experiment', and The Adding Machine (the title comes from a 1923 expressionist play by Elmer Rice) encapsulates the musical results of this change, containing as it does a heady mix of Prime Time-like keening and Sco/Lo-type driving urgency. With tenor player Mark Hanslip and drummer Tim Giles completing the line-up -– both experienced operators in the fertile hinterland between free jazz and more structured playing, the former primarily with Outhouse, the latter with the likes of Age of Steam and Fraud -– Twelves are well equipped to move, as they do ,between dramatic, anthemic rock and tumbling freer music. On this album's seven in-band originals and one arrangement of a traditional folk song ('Shallow Brown') they perfectly capture the spirit of Rice's play, which also dramatises a shifting emotional world of dark revenge, unsettling fantasy and hope. |
Music Omh, March 2011
Following a subtle name change as a result of their growing line-up (the group formerly known as Twelves Trio), Twelves have returned with a more expansive but no less nuanced ensemble sound for this second album. Drummer Tim Giles named the album in reference to an Elmer Rice play about an accountant seeking revenge after being replaced by an adding machine. The music here contains a degree of mischievous interplay that makes that title seem apt. It is also a music of contrast and subtlety. The group's freedom and flexibility comes partnered with real discipline and control.
Bassist Rian Vosloo, saxophonist Mark Hanslip and drummer Tim Giles (also a member of the outstanding Golden Age Of Steam all return for this album. The most transparent change in the group's sound comes from new guitarist Rob Updegraff. He adds a determined, gritty, incisive undertow to the group's improvisation, sometimes reminiscent of John Zorn, but also perhaps of Bill Frisell in his more left field moments (the Richter 858 album especially). Sometimes his accompaniment is full and fluid, at others it is spiky and conversational (especially on Kerfuffle). His solos have an elasticity perfectly suited to the overall ensemble approach.
The recordings here strike an inspired balance between knotty compositions, patient melodic development and dynamic, turbulent free improvisation. It is testament to the group's considerable skill that the result is not an uncomfortable mish-mash, but rather a series of coherent, powerful statements with a strong sense of narrative.
The two part Many Splendoured Thing demonstrates the group's approach brilliantly. Tim Giles' remarkable, frenetic drumming serves both a textural and melodic function, free from the constraints of time keeping. The first part works as something of a feature for Updegraff, whose free spirited playing, incorporating both rock and jazz influences, immediately breaks down boundaries. The second part, which features Mark Hanslip on tenor saxophone, is calmer and more spacious. Together, the pieces represent two sides of the same coin.
These contrasts are explored in great depth throughout the album. Shallow Brown, Rian Vosloo's arrangement of a folk tune, is successful largely through the group's masterful use of space, silence and dynamics. The piece seems to gradually and gracefully expand over its eleven minute duration. Spiders veers playfully between a languid, subtly melodic theme played by Hanslip and some passages of gentle, more abstract improvisation. Hanslip's Party Girls seems more rhythmically propulsive.
Whilst The Adding Machine certainly has moments of great tension, it proves that mediative compositions and free improvisation needn't be mutually exclusive. It also dispels unfair stereotypes of improvised music as necessarily dense and overwhelming. This is intelligent, supple, fascinating music.
The Jazz Mann, March 2011
Twelves is the brainchild of bassist and composer Riaan Vosloo and “The Adding Machine” represents the group’s second album release following a move to Oliver Weindling’s pioneering Babel label. Under the name Twelves Trio, Vosloo, tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip and drummer Tim Giles released the acclaimed “Here Comes The Woodman With His Twisted Soul” back in 2008.
At the suggestion of Giles the group decided to name their new record after a play by the American playwright Elmer Rice. The play tells the the tale of Mr. Zero, an accountant who plots revenge after being replaced by an adding machine. Giles’ choice of title may also be a veiled reference to the fact that Twelves have now become a quartet with the addition of guitarist Rob Updegraff. The recruitment of the group’s newest member again came from a suggestion by Giles. The drummer and guitarist are long term associates and Updegraff brings new sonic possibilities to the band plus a subtle rock influence. But for all this Twelves’ music is still emphatically jazz, with group interaction and musical dialogue remaining high on the quartet’s musical agenda.
Twelves’ music is free-wheeling, unfolding logically and organically, and regularly blurs the lines between jazz and rock, composition and improvisation. Vosloo and Giles are a wonderfully adaptable and versatile rhythm section, never resorting to cliché and their playing, particularly that of Giles, is consistently absorbing and interesting. The flexibility of the rhythm pairing allows Hanslip and Updegraff to explore unhurriedly and at will. Despite an obvious rock influence Updegraff’s playing is also distinguished by a willingness to avoid the obvious and Hanslip is rapidly emerging as a distinctive soloist with an increasingly personal tone and with much to say on his chosen instrument.
The nature of the credits on the album packaging makes it difficult to assign the eight pieces on the record to the relevant composers, although Vosloo and Hanslip are acknowledged to be the group’s principal writers. However at least one piece, “Spiders”, can be attributed to Hanslip, by virtue of it having previously appeared on the début album by the saxophonist’s previous band, Outhouse.
“The Adding Machine” begins with the two part piece “Many Splendoured Thing” which opens with the busy chatter and clatter of Giles’ drums, these subsequently forming the backdrop for Updegraff’s lengthy rock influenced guitar solo. Updegraff, who has also worked with saxophonist Finn Peters, has forged a personal style that borrows from both rock and jazz but ultimately sounds like neither. At times there’s an ambient nature to his playing that’s reminiscent of Bill Frisell or John Abercrombie but without any obvious imitation of either. Hanslip’s subsequent tenor excursion in the second half of the piece is more measured and conversational, blending well with the now more subdued chiming of Updegraff’s guitar. Giles exhibits a delicate and thoughtful cymbal touch as Vosloo anchors everything together. A fluid approach to rhythm and meter is a distinguishing mark of the whole album.
Hanslip’s “Spiders” has a strong theme which the group punctuate with episodes of freer, more impressionistic improvising. The saxophonist is the dominant figure here, improvising fitfully above Updegraff’s guitar chording and sonic washes and the quiet bustle of Giles’ drums.
“Kerfuffle” opens with a Coleman (Steve or Ornette-take your pick) like theme statement which the group use as the jumping off point for some extensive improvising with lengthy solos from Hanslip and Updegraff above the floating pulse created by bass and drums. For all the freedom Hanslip’s playing is intrinsically melodic with Updegraff later adding his distinctive rock influenced guitar tone.
Vosloo’s arrangement of the folk tune “Shallow Brown” is simply lovely, opening with the deep sonorities of the composer’s double bass and Giles’ subtly delicate drum accompaniment. It’s a slow burner of a tune that takes Hanslip’s brooding, Coltrane style tenor and seamlessly places it into a contemporary context. Selwyn Harris’ “Jazzwise” review described the piece as being “a Twelves Tribute to Coltrane’s ‘Naima’”. I’d say that Harris has encapsulated the spirit of the track pretty much perfectly with Updegraff’s spacy, floating guitar solo adding that all important contemporary twist. The Coltrane influence may be obvious but here Twelves claim his legacy for themselves and do so brilliantly.
Hanslip’s “Party Girls” is another tune that has featured in the Outhouse repertoire. There’s a playful quality to the music that fits the title with Hanslip’s tenor the principal solo voice. There’s also an extended solo feature for the consistently excellent Giles.
“Eyeballing”‘s opening theme statement features closely interlocking guitar and tenor lines. The group then make a detour into deep space with some ethereal, highly impressionistic improvising before the theme eventually re-emerges.
The opening of the closing “Mr Zero”- the title an open reference to Rice’s play- features Twelves at their most lyrical with Hanslip’s warm tenor sound contrasting well with the crystalline qualities of Updegraff’s guitar. It’s essentially a two part composition with the group gathering momentum in the closing stages.
“The Adding Machine” is a fascinating album, one that draws the listener further in with each subsequent listen. The level of group interaction is consistently high and is frequently engrossing with Updegraff and Hanslip the perfect foils for each other. Vosloo and Giles play with impressive intelligence and are flexible and supple throughout. This is not the easiest album to get into with a lack of memorable melodic themes perhaps something of an obstacle for the first time or casual listener. The spirit of Coltrane and Colemans Steve and Ornette hangs over these recordings but Twelves bring plenty of themselves to the music with Updegraff’s guitar a thoroughly contemporary and convincing addition to the old Twelves Trio.
All About Jazz, March 2011
In 2008, Twelves Trio released its debut album, the evocatively-titled Here Comes The Woodman With His Splintered Soul (1965 Records). The band has since added guitarist Rob Updegraff, dropped the Trio appellation, changed record labels, and released album number two, the more prosaically named The Adding Machine. The band's intention to explore, improvise and develop sonically remains strong on this release.
Twelves is one of a growing number of young British jazz groups characterized by technical ability and a willingness to transcend musical boundaries. Polar Bear, the Kit Downes Trio, Outhouse and The Golden Age Of Steam all readily spring to mind; as does Compassionate Dictatorship, a band that shares an identical instrumental lineup with Twelves, but uses it to deliver a punchier, more rock-oriented style of music. Members are often shared between these bands, with Twelves' drummer Tim Giles also in The Golden Age Of Steam, for example, while the musicians also collaborate in collectives such as Loop or F-Ire.
The band's sonic approach is a gentle one, characterized by subtle shifts in tempo, rhythm or instrumental emphasis. Tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip takes the greatest responsibility for lead lines, and has a soft-toned and, at time, surprisingly quiet style. The most intriguing tune on The Adding Machine is "Shallow Brown," a traditional folk song recorded by Sir Peter Pears and June Tabor, among others. After Riaan Vosloo's languid bass introduction, Hanslip plays the melody in a similarly laidback style, underpinned by Giles and Updegraff's soft and fluid percussion and guitar. The band is almost in folk-rock territory here, the arrangement reflecting Fairport Convention's seminal recording of "A Sailor's Life" on Unhalfbricking (Island, 1969).
The rest of the tunes are originals. Hanslip and Vosloo are the band's main writers, but the packaging gives no clue as to who wrote which tune, and Giles and Updegraaf could well be involved too. "Kerfuffle" kicks off with a fine bass and drum groove from Vosloo and Giles, echoed in the entrance of Hanslip and Updegraff that follows. It soon slides into a darker, more fractured, sound courtesy of Hanslip's tenor, even though Giles and Vosloo keep up a more persistent rhythm. The dark side of the Twelves sound is also present on "Eyeballing" and "Mr Zero," although "Party Girls" shows its more humorous side.
Twelves is undoubtedly a band full of talented players, taking inspiration from some unusual sources and turning it into some complex but subtly nuanced compositions.
Twelves is one of a growing number of young British jazz groups characterized by technical ability and a willingness to transcend musical boundaries. Polar Bear, the Kit Downes Trio, Outhouse and The Golden Age Of Steam all readily spring to mind; as does Compassionate Dictatorship, a band that shares an identical instrumental lineup with Twelves, but uses it to deliver a punchier, more rock-oriented style of music. Members are often shared between these bands, with Twelves' drummer Tim Giles also in The Golden Age Of Steam, for example, while the musicians also collaborate in collectives such as Loop or F-Ire.
The band's sonic approach is a gentle one, characterized by subtle shifts in tempo, rhythm or instrumental emphasis. Tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip takes the greatest responsibility for lead lines, and has a soft-toned and, at time, surprisingly quiet style. The most intriguing tune on The Adding Machine is "Shallow Brown," a traditional folk song recorded by Sir Peter Pears and June Tabor, among others. After Riaan Vosloo's languid bass introduction, Hanslip plays the melody in a similarly laidback style, underpinned by Giles and Updegraff's soft and fluid percussion and guitar. The band is almost in folk-rock territory here, the arrangement reflecting Fairport Convention's seminal recording of "A Sailor's Life" on Unhalfbricking (Island, 1969).
The rest of the tunes are originals. Hanslip and Vosloo are the band's main writers, but the packaging gives no clue as to who wrote which tune, and Giles and Updegraaf could well be involved too. "Kerfuffle" kicks off with a fine bass and drum groove from Vosloo and Giles, echoed in the entrance of Hanslip and Updegraff that follows. It soon slides into a darker, more fractured, sound courtesy of Hanslip's tenor, even though Giles and Vosloo keep up a more persistent rhythm. The dark side of the Twelves sound is also present on "Eyeballing" and "Mr Zero," although "Party Girls" shows its more humorous side.
Twelves is undoubtedly a band full of talented players, taking inspiration from some unusual sources and turning it into some complex but subtly nuanced compositions.
reviews for HERE COMES THE WOODMAN
WITH HIS SPLINTERED SOUL
The Guardian Friday 19 September 2008
****
The dry, patient, sax-led melodies of this British trio suggest Polar Bear. But Twelves Trio's bassist, Riaan Vosloo, considers the American free-bassist William Parker and the idiosyncratic sax-bass-drums groups of Sonny Rollins' earlier career as the trio's real models. The saxophonist here is Mark Hanslip, whose languorous melodic development and shapely solo accelerations are a powerful feature of the Outhouse group. On the quietly exhilarating Jiggery Pokery, the imperturbable Hanslip suggests a less impulsive Ornette Coleman over Vosloo's rumbling basslines and Giles' steady clip; She Moved Through the Fair exploits the dark nuances of his tenor tone over growling arco bass and hollow cymbal taps. Guest pianist Zoe Rahman nudges at the saxophonist's plaintive hoots on the languidly funky Earth; Angel's descending melody sounds like a dolorous Jitterbug Waltz. Despite the limitations of this instrumentation, it's a real group-improvisers' album, full of understated melodic invention.
THE JAZZ BREAKFAST
Twelves Trio: Here Comes The Woodman With His Splintered Soul (1965 Records)
****
We might not be aware of it up here in the Midlands, but apparently if you go daan saaf and head for the E17 postcode you will find that Walthamstow is becoming the jazz equivalent of the East Village. And you might come across bassist Riaan Vosloo, drummer Tim Giles and tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip, best known as members of Electric Dr M, Fraud and Outhouse respectively, but likely to be beset by hurrahs as a result of this disc.
It really is excellent. Just try the opener, the punchy Jiggery Pokery with its never-erring bass ostinato, its timeless tune and beautifully focused solos. Or the atmospheric sound explorations of She Moved Through The Fair. Lots of air and lots of exciting sound waves in it.
Pianist Zoe Rahman sits in on a couple of tracks. Let’s hope we hear them up here in the B postcodes before too long.
THE METRO
This year's Best Album Title Award, if such a thing existed, would surely go to Twelves Trio's Here Comes The Woodman With His Splintered Soul (1965 Records). The group's members - Riaan Vosloo (bass), Tim Giles (drums) and Mark Hanslip (tenor) - all live in Walthamstow, east London, which may well be the capital's new jazz headquarters. There's some distinguished motif-writing here: dig the descending sax theme that launches Angel on its sensuous voyage of discovery. It's clever, eclectic stuff; Mingus, hip hop and folk are all named as influences but, crucially, it's also got a bit of soul.
THE CRACK MAGAZINE
Well here’s a slice of jazzy minimalism for all you Polar Bear fans to coo over. Dark, subtle hooks and with some Coltrane-esque meanderings very much to the fore this sounds like the soundtrack to a Francis Bacon painting (and that’s meant in the best possible way). GM
FLY EUROPE
You may recall Mr. Peterson played a track from this band on the show with the Mr Scruff pre-BigChill interview (I’m afraid I missed his set, but heard a bit of his Big Chill Radio show on Sunday morning, see review HERE). Anyway, back to the Twelves Trio, so even if the ablum title sounds like it should be a folktroinica group a la Tunng, this is a jazz album by the splinter group of the mighty fine Examples Of Twelves.
That said, there is a bit of folk in here, the most obvious being the Irish tinged ‘She Moved Through The Fair’ that is particularly effective with the Mark Hanslip (also Nostalgia 77, The Rhythmagic Orchestra, Outhouse and Lizzy Parks) sax sounding as if he’s playing a part written for a fiddle.
Peterson played part of the next (and longest track), ‘Earth’. This is more in GPs modal bag with a minimal avant-guard jazz drumming by Tim Giles (he of Fraud and ‘wires’ on Max de Wardener’s influencial Where I Am Today album) with some find Tippettesque piano work provided by Zoe Rahman along with perfect sax and bass (Riann Vosloo) solos.
Zoe also features on the track ‘How To Stop An Exploding Man’ that’s not as explosive as you’d have thought and sort of ends on a damp squib (perhaps that’s the point). But not to worry as the last track ‘Flower Song’ is the best of the lot is a mournful downtown walk along the waterfront with me baby at 2am type way.
‘Angel’ and ‘Clutter’ are dominated by Hanslip as he’s so cool in in a Coltrane, Rollins, Coleman frame of mind and in contrast to the busy ‘Jiggery Polkery’ of the opening and most mixtape friendly track.
The trio is led by Riaan (who we also know from Nostalgia 77, Max Grunhard Quintet and The Plumstead Radical Club) and it’s a far more sutble jazz affair than Neil Crowley but still full bodied.
Apparently based in my old manor of Walthamstow, E17 (former home of William Morris, the notorious Brian Harvey (who used to ‘drink’ in the Essex Arms) and the the soon to be closed world famous Greyhound Track), there’s a couple of live dates on the cards.
As far as I know, this is 1965 Records’ first foray into jazz but I’m not at all surprised as they have a range of artists even wider than this sites’ interests as they are also home to Toddla T (also at the Big Chill), they released Jahcoozi’s ‘Black Barbie’ on a 7”and they are releasing the oddness poetry of Derek Meins soon. Anyway, more power to them and strongly suggest ‘Earth’ as the track of the day; great album!
JAzz blog
London-based band Twelves trio are in fact a pared down version of the larger collective Examples of Twelves and in outlook have clearly been influenced by the mid-late 1950s recordings of the Sonny Rollins trio (particularly 'Way Out West'). What could in the wrong hands have been a one-dimensional jam sessions has instead resulted in a highly inventic, melodic and even accessible album that bodes well for the future. A meditational atmosphere permeates 'She moved through the fair' with its Coltrane-inspired groove while 'Earth' abounds in funky flavours helped in no short measure by the excellent piano playing of Zoe Rahman who features on two of the seven album cuts. Perhaps the best moment, though, is reserved for 'Angel' which features fine ensemble playing by the trio and where saxophonist Mark Hanslip is at his most expressive on this reflective piece.A accomplished debut, then, by the trio and one anticipates with great relish the forthcoming tour dates. Tim Stenhouse
Live reviews for twelves
Twelves Trio @ votex 21st nov 2009 chris parker
Twelves Trio actually comprises four musicians – leader/bassist Riaan Vosloo, drummer Tim Giles, tenor player Mark Hanslip and electric guitarist Rob Updegraaf – but, as suggested in the programme, they do indeed play 'post-jazz with fiery heart and soul', their usual approach being to take (Outhouse-like) a somewhat perfunctory, even sketchy, theme and explore its rhythmic and textural possibilities in their solos.
Said themes, especially when provided by Hanslip ('Candle', 'Party Girls'), but also when taken from folk music (a memorable version of 'She Moved Through the Fair') are nervy and loose enough to be easily disassembled in the (largely) rubato explorations to which they give rise, and in Giles they have the perfect drummer (loose and exploratory, yet always clearly hinting at the underlying rhythm) for such music.
Both Hanslip and Updegraaf are adept at incorporating both freeish and more structured playing into their solo contributions, the former highly skilled at worrying away at a particular phrase until he's exhausted all its possibilities, the latter bringing a welcome spikiness and punch to the band sound.
It is Vosloo, though, who is clearly the heartbeat of the band, with his booming, generous sound and his sheer enthusiasm and energy, and the band's forthcoming album should be something of a treat.
Jazzwise review green note
Wednesday, 18 November 2009 09:56
The new Twelves line-up played an extended set earlier this week featuring material from their forthcoming new album at the Green Note in Camden as part of the London Jazz Festival. Formerly known as “Twelves Trio” these days the band includes guitar protagonist Rob Updegraff, so clearly four does not a trio make.
Sensitivity and vitality were the over-riding impressions from their set. From the off Updegraff played a series of shimmering Marc Ducret-like harmonies that gently eased the audience into an attentive state of mind.
As his phrases developed he pin-pricked clichés with a narrowly off-kilter timing in his delivery. As if to highlight the group’s cohesion, tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip’s opening statements were given shading by Updegraff’s subtly warped chordal voicings. Tim Giles on drums and Riaan Vosloo on double bass added a further dimension by playing with free sensitivity while managing to cultivate a rhythmic pulse for the others to react to. An up-tempo bop strut emerged during ‘Kerfuffle’ allowing Hanslip to expand his melodic ideas in a direction plotted somewhere between the two pillars of Joe Lovano and Wayne Shorter. Conversely, ‘Jiggery Pokery’ found Vosloo and Giles pursuing an almost Roots-esque jazz-based hip-hop beat that got heads bopping and toes tapping.
However, the quartet’s capacity for sensuality is arguably their USP. This was most ably demonstrated during the two folk covers; ‘She Moves through the Fair’ and ‘Shallow Brown’. Melodies were gracefully delivered by Hanslip while dreamy chord sustains by Updegraff evoked early 70’s John McLaughlin as the band edged towards a prog-rock sound reminiscent of Soft Machine. Elegant rhythmic thrusts by Giles provided suitable vivacity for soloists to feed-off in a way that was crucial for the energy created. With the release of this material due early next year on Babel Records Twelves are definitely a band to catch in 2010.
– Joseph Kassman-Tod
the jazz breakfast
The Rainbow, Digbeth, Birmingham
27-05-09
The main draw card for me was a chance to hear tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip at greater length, and so it proved. He was even wearing his baggy-sleeved cardigan again.
This young former Birmingham Conservatoire student is a busy man indeed and is a great foil for other another tenor player, Robin Fincker, in Outhouse, but here his counterpart at the front of the stage is guitarist Rob Updegraff. Hanslip is a thoughtful player with a beautiful, rounded tone and a fascinating way of worrying a phrase, extending it a little, worrying it some more, and so building substantial solos from just a few fragments of melody.
He does the same in his writing, of which we heard quite a bit last night (Party Girls and Candle were two, though he seems unhappy with their titles so they might not retain them). The other very effective pieces were both folk songs – She Moved Through The Fair and Shallow Brown, where Hanslip very cleverly found a warbling, Northumbrian pipes sound somewhere in his tenor, and the elemental nature of the tunes and their subject matter (slavery in the second instance) brought out the depth and some passion.
Twelves Trio leader is bassist Riaan Vosloo, who runs a band high on generosity and support for its constituent members – Tim Giles on drums is the fourth (Yes, it’s a highly misleading name, but I think I have come up with a cunning interpretation. If you make 12 into trios, each one would have four players… well, it was the best I could come up with).
Updegraff provided just the right contrast to Hanslip, and towards the end of the evening wound the tension up a little with a couple of searing solos. Vosloo is solid and original in what he plays though some of his subtlety was lost in this venue.
Giles is a highly distinctive drummer with a great ability outside the regular beat – the more free the time the more he seems at home. That I find his sound deeply unattractive and irritating should in no way be seen as criticism of him, and purely as an indictment of my inability to appreciate what he is doing. In fact, I am a bit worried at how potent my antipathy is, but that is my problem, not his!
I am also unconvinced of this covered courtyard as a great venue for jazz. That could be because I have never seen it crammed and buzzing but always sparsely populated and slightly down hearted. For me, a venue can either have a certain atmosphere and charm, or can acquire one through the accretion of memory – experience a few great gigs in a space and that feeling rubs off on it. The next time you go, you carry all those treasured memories in with you. The best venues have both. I feel a great affection for the Adrian Boult Hall, and for the CBSO Centre (despite the chairs), for those reasons.
While I think the main pub at the Rainbow, with its tiny stage, has the crucial magic, the covered courtyard has none. It is just a bit cold and draughty and charmless. Of course, those who saw Cuong Vu there or any other full houses might feel differently.
Overall, then, a mixed evening. At least I’m not a Manchester United supporter.
Jazz Lounge 2008 Review (jazzwise)
With an abundance of talent available the Jazz Lounge is one of the first stages on site to have bands begin to play on Thursday the heroes of the evening being the widescreen modal approach bassist Riaan Vosloo’s stripped down Twelves trio.