This is as fine example of small group contemporary jazz as you could wish to hear anywhere.
Available from Bandcamp
Peter Johnstone (B3 organ); Joe Locke (vibraphone); Tommy Smith (tenor saxophone); Alyn Cosker (drums)
Pianist, organist and composer Peter Johnstone has kept us waiting for a long time for his debut album. Since winning the BBC Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year in 2012 and the Peter Whittingham Award the following year, Johnstone has been a regular on the Scottish jazz scene and come to internation attention during his tenure with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra garnering praise from US masters Kurt Elling and Joe Locke.
Indeed, it was at the suggestion of Joe Locke that Johnstone was prompted to form his own band with the vibraphonist hinting that he himself would like to be in the group. Picking up the gauntlet, Johnstone duly got together his ideal quartet and set about writing the music for the band, and the fruits of his labour can be heard on this excellent release.
Choosing to focus on the B3 organ has given Johnstone fresh territory in which to work and a challenge in finding a way in which to blend the sound of the organ with the comparatively quiet vibraphone. This he has accomplished with considerable success with a broad sound palette that enables the quartet play in a hard hitting manner that immediately grabs the attention as well in setting that is delicately nuanced and tender.
This contrast is laid out in the first couple of numbers from the tough opening theme of the title track that brings forth a muscular solo from the tenor saxophone of Tommy Smith prior to an effortlessly flowing solo from the vibes. This is followed by the relaxed and lyrical theme of ‘New Beginning’ with its gently swinging bass line and the very different vibe of ‘Fleeting Dreams’ with the first third of the piece being dominated by Smith’s declamatory tenor playing before loosening up for another lyrical solo from Locke.
The quartet pick up the pace a little for ‘Shape Shifters’ and once again the lyrical side of the band is heard in what is possibly my favourite track, the beautiful ‘When You Were Born’ written for Johnstone’s young son. Locke’s vibes bring a delicate floating air to the music before Tommy enters with his wonderfully sensitive ballad playing both in Johnstone’s melody and in his solo.
Throughout drum duties are handled impeccably and tastefully by Alyn Cosker, and his introduction to ‘The Four Horsemen’ is a masterclass in itself as he leads the quartet into a driving and swinging composition with fast and fluid solos from both vibes and organ.
Although the leader of this stellar quartet, Johnstone still seems intent on keeping his own talents in the shadows giving the lion’s share of the solos to tenor and vibes, he does allow himself to cut loose with a swinging solo on ‘Beyond Everything’. Elsewhere he plays for the band, yet his virtuosity on the B3 and contribution to the sound of the group should not be underestimated. Listening to this marvellous recording I was frequently caught off guard and found myself wondering who was providing the superb basslines only to realise it was Johnstone himself using the bass pedals of the organ.
This is as fine example of small group contemporary jazz as you could wish to hear anywhere. Now that he has the bit between his teeth, let us hope that it is not too long before Johnstone can be coaxed back into the studio for album number two. In the meantime, this will do very nicely, thank you.
