There’s nothing quite like Tim Garland’s music, with its three strands of jazz, classical and folk woven in ever-changing and surprising patterns. In this case, we have a string orchestra of up to 35 players, some superb jazz soloists, notably Garland himself, and traditional song from north-west England.
The music is an evocation of the Lake District in its various seasons and moods. There’s a certain resistance, even now, to the mixing of strings and jazz, but the richness and variety of these 12 pieces should banish such prejudice: bassist Yuri Goloubev soloing to an ethereal background of two violins; the earthy sound of Garland’s tenor saxophone declaiming the haunting melody of The Snows They Melt the Soonest; the boldly expansive playing of both pianists, Jason Rebello and Pablo Held.
Everything fits with such perfection, you would never guess that their improvised solos were added to the previously recorded ensemble. Garland makes the point that people nowadays often experience orchestral music first through film soundtracks, which may stimulate the imagination when listening to music like this. His soundscapes certainly present us with atmospheres and images subtler than any picture.
