London-based guitarist and composer Billy Marrows has a knack for choosing song names. His debut album, named for his late mum Penelope (Penny), is full of great ones, each with a story behind it. ‘Be Right Bold’, for instance, is named for a Northern English expression Penny’s father used to gee up his underconfident daughter. ‘L’Heroïsme’ pays tribute to the NHS and Marrows’ dad, Timothy, who tirelessly supported Penny through her journey with illness. Perhaps most apt for the autumnal evening when I saw Billy’s 12-piece band at the Vortex was ‘The Nights are Drawing In’, inspired by a Robert Frost poem.
We were treated to a live version of the whole album, entitled ‘Penelope’, which Marrows self-released in January of this year. A decorated composer, winning the Eddie Harvey Jazz Arranger award and the Dankworth composition prize twice over, Marrows favours fairly through-composed, lush-textured writing with unusual combinations of instruments. For this gig, Gustavo Clayton-Marucci brought the low end with his silky bass clarinet, RAM graduate Olli Martin warmed the ensemble with his trombone, NYJO alumnus Anna Drysdale was on French horn, and Marrows’ cousin once-removed Dijan Mbanu played flute. These orchestral instruments hinted at the influence of Gil Evans, particularly on the hazy, nostalgic ‘The Garden’. Pianist Angus Bayley’s hushed, unhurried solo passages showed Marrows’ leanings towards a classical soundworld.
There are more conventional ‘jazz’ elements to Marrows’ music, however – alto saxophonist Chris Williams, known for his work with Led Bib and a member of the guitarist’s original quartet, took a number of rip-roaring solos, notably on ‘The Nights are Drawing In’. Rising star Tom Ridout brought his muscular tenor to both the title track and to a fiery exchange with trumpeter Mike Soper on ‘L’Heroïsme’. Ben Brown’s drums, a special addition not featured on the original album, helped add to the spontaneous, improvisatory feel of some of the tunes. He also lent infectious Latin and samba feels to ‘The Nights’ and ‘Speedwell’ respectively.
As the band name suggests, the guitarist’s project is a family affair. Some of the music was played to Penny in her final months in a private concert by Marrows, his partner, violist Teresa Macedo Ferreira, his cousin and electric bassist Jonas Mbanu, and flautist Dijan (then only in her GCSE year). The expansion of this initial ensemble to 12 musicians in a sold-out Vortex didn’t take away from this intimacy, but enhanced it – we all learned a little about Penny’s life, and her care and generosity towards her family. Billy even stopped the title track’s introduction after a false start, quipping: ‘one of the things about having a big family is that things don’t always go to plan!’.
