With New Stages Wade is staking his claim to having one of the finest trios currently active and listening to this marvellous recording I am not inclined to disagree.
Dot Time Records DT9178
Tim Harrison (piano); Mark Wade (bass); Scott Neumann (drums)
Recorded May 2025
New Stages is the fifth album from bassist Mark Wade and his trio and is quite possibly their best yet. The trio have been working together for more than a decade, and it shows. For those who have been following Wade’s development and are familiar with his earlier recordings you will know to expect jazz of the very highest standard. If you are new to Mark Wade, then I can think of no better calling card.
With outstanding credential as a jazz and classical bassist, Wade is not afraid to cross blend musical genres. As he says, “Good music is good music no matter what label you want to put on it”, and with this recording he looks to influences from classical music to write and arrange for his trio.
There can be many pitfalls in this approach, and it is all too easy to lose both jazz and classical audiences in such a venture, however Wade has brought together his love for both idioms in not just a sympathetic manner but also with great intelligence in both source material and his own creative writing and arrangements.
Things get off to a swinging start with ‘The Good Doctor Gradus’ which forms part of a four part Children’s Corner Suite inspired by Debussy and follows this with the gentle and serene ‘The Elephant’s Lullaby’ and closes the suite with ‘cakewalk’ a sprtely piece that features a wonderful solo from the bassist.
Wade is also prominently featured on ‘Iberia’ in a two-part composition that draws on the work of others and features a teasing bass solo on ‘Part I’ before leading into the Adagio from Rodrigo’s ‘Concerto de Aranjuez’ and in ‘Part II’ a spirited ‘La Fiesta’ by Chick Corea.
Bringing the tempo down there is a lovely interpretation of the first movement of Sibelius Violin Concerto in ‘Saga’ and ‘Idyll’ that draws from Wagner’s Idyll from this opera Siegfried.
There is a lovely change of pace once again in the opening bars of ‘Waltz and Variation’ featuring Chopin’s Prelude in Ab Major No. 69 that lull you into a false sense of security as the trio launch into a deeply swinging pulse.
Throughout the album there is whole host of delights awaiting the attentive listener. The trio functions at the very highest level with Wade showing in both ensemble and solo roles why he is so highly regarded, and drummer Scott Neumann plays with drive, passion and good taste. Pianist Tim Harrison, originally from the UK, is exemplary. His feel for the music and his touch at the keyboard is a delight and is highlighted nowhere better than on the bassist’s imaginative arrangement of Bach’s Cantata BWV 147 Jesu of Man’s Desiring on the closing composition ‘Jesu’.
With New Stages Wade is staking his claim to having one of the finest trios currently active and listening to this marvellous recording I am not inclined to disagree.
