Imagine the impressionistic electric-jazz moodiness and glistening keyboard textures of Miles Davis’s In A Silent Way seamlessly wrapped around Celtic folk melodies, Django Batesian idiom-swaps, and interwoven with American, Scottish and north African drumming – and you might have a feel for this superb set from Laura Jurd, the young trumpeter who has made such an impact on UK jazz over four packed years.
She’s joined by regular sidekicks Elliot Galvin (keys), Conor Chaplin (bass guitar) and Corrie Dick (drums) on this beautifully played and effortlessly confident collage of contemporary styles. A marimba-like hook, softly clacking sticks-patterns and a whirry, looping high trumpet figure patiently unfold the luxuriously stretching opener, skippy jigs alternating with slews of shifting dance grooves. Spanish harmonies meet gothic church organ chords on Steadily Sinking, and the nine-minute Extinct – perhaps the best track among some hot contenders – fascinatingly mingles slow-burning, valve-fluttering trumpet improv, Galvin’s gently churning Wurlitzer sound, dramatically swelling build-ups and cool ensemble swing. The album title gets this special band’s essence just right.
