From Loose Tubes, Perfect Houseplants and Polar Bear to session work with Prefab Sprout, Robert Wyatt and Radiohead, saxophonist Mark Lockheart has been at the centre of British music for four decades. Now a mainstay of the Edition Records stable, he seemingly has free licence to follow his musical instincts. Recent projects have touched variously on sacred music, chamber jazz, fully orchestral music and indie rock, and on this latest release Lockheart tips an appreciative nod to the distinguished tradition of British jazz-rock pioneers such as Mike Gibbs, Nucleus and Colosseum.
Assembling a very special twelve-piece ensemble for the occasion, Lockheart’s decision not to feature the piano has the effect of thinning out the sound-stage and places stronger emphasis his rock solid backline of John Parricelli (guitar), Tom Herbert (bass) and Dave Smith (drums). Lockheart wrote all of the charts and he solos liberally across the piece, while Rowland Sutherland (flute), Nathaniel Facey (alto saxophone), Laura Jurd (trumpet) and James Allsopp (clarinets) are among the featured soloists.
Opening brightly with the Afro-beat vibes of “Morning Smiles”, Paricelli’s choppy chords lock-in with bass and drums as the long serpentine theme unfolds. Sutherland’s darting solo is followed by some typically robust shredding from Paricelli and biting soprano from the leader. The interaction of the moving parts on “Back And Forth” is absolutely breathtaking, its complex linear theme, dissonant horn voicings and static rhythmic churn creating the most dramatic of backdrops for Facey’s angular excursion. “Western Shores” by contrast carries shades of David Lynch, a sort of haunted Americana which never quite resolves, while the multi-sectioned “Lunch With The Devil” toys furtively with a sense of impending danger.
Elsewhere “Wrap Me Up” is slow and lyrical, a very English ballad and strongly redolent of the sounds of ‘70s British prog. The relaxed funk of “Rapture Of The Deep” is brought to boiling point by Harry Maund’s rasping trombone, and the altogether more introspective “In Deeper” recalls Lockheart’s exquisite balladry on his 2009 album In Deep. Closing with full-length and radio edits of the hard grooving “I’ve Seen The Light”, its fast-paced and precision cut theme paints a mildly dystopian vision of the future. The contrast with the warmth of the slow blues passage which follows is striking, a timely reminder perhaps of the risk of humanity being swallowed whole by an age of machines.
All told Smiling is far more than just a salute to Britain’s jazz-rock pioneers. Tying together the many diverse strands of Lockheart’s long and adventurous career in a single and hugely enjoyable package, it is to my ears his strongest Edition release to date.
