‘So nice to see a busy room,’ said pianist and composer Claire Cope after her eleven-piece ensemble had played their first piece, the eponymous ‘Every Journey (Has a New Beginning)’ from her second album Every Journey, due for release in March 2025.
Busy it certainly was. Even a capacity crowd meant roughly a 5:1 ratio of audience to musicians, the horns in the front row so close I could have touched their music stands without leaving my seat. What a privilege, what a treat, to have so many talented musicians so close, especially as some of them had come so far; Cope herself and husband Rob Cope (baritone sax, bass clarinet, flute) had travelled down from South Manchester just for the gig, and the band includes musicians from London, northwest England, and even Scotland.
Several of these musicians are probably already familiar to UK Jazz News readers. As well as the Copes the band includes Brigitte Beraha (voice) and Ant Law (guitar), who’ve performed together to great acclaim (see, for example, this ecstatic live review), Freddie Gavita (trumpet), Mike Soper (trumpet/flugelhorn), Anoushka Nanguy (trombone), Matt Carmichael (tenor saxophone), Gavin Barras (bass), Jon Ormston (drums) and Jack McCarthy (percussion). And what an exquisite sound they made together, mostly unmediated by the need for microphones and amplifiers – the only person I could see using a microphone was the singer Beraha.
Cope’s musical inspirations include Maria Schneider and Pat Metheny, and there’s a hint of the Pat Metheny Group in the lush melodicism of Cope’s orchestrations topped by Beraha’s wordless vocals. Five horn players meant the sound could easily have been excessively brash and brassy, but Cope proved to be far too subtle an orchestrator for that to happen, for example deploying brass and reeds to provide subtle colouration on ‘The Birch and the Larch’, a trumpet/voice dialogue on the gentle ‘Home’; plenty of solo slots for different players throughout both sets; and a complex mesh of timbres and rhythm on the final number.
Other examples of the ensemble exploiting the full tonal palette available included starting the first set with limpid keyboard textures, gentle guitar and tinkling percussion; building the tune ‘Isabelle’ from funky bass to fine solos on bone, bari and trumpet to an intricate percussion/drums duet; the almost hymn-like simplicity of piano chords, reverb guitar and brass-band-like arrangements on ‘The Light of the Dark’ (which Cope called a ‘short little chorale inspired by Kenny Wheeler’s Sweet Time Suite’); and Beraha’s lyrics and singing on ‘The Birch and the Larch’, which – in terms of phrasing and tone – put me in mind of the great Norma Winstone.
Claire Cope is an entertaining storyteller. We learnt about the remarkable women who inspired the tunes, real women who made incredible journeys, and (in the case of ‘The Birch and the Larch’) a fable of love against all the odds – which could almost be an allegory for Cope’s own musical journey. How, I kept wondering, could Ensemble C and the Vortex possibly afford to lay on such a musical banquet for so little takings at the door? After all, a full-price ticket at the Vortex is only £15 (less if you’re a member), which in pricy London equates to roughly one cinema ticket or two pints. It’s possible only because of the passion of the musicians, and the fact that the Vortex is not-for-profit and run by volunteers.
In the age of Spotify and other streaming services, where recorded music is a tap that’s never turned off, it’s easy to be complacent about live music. Part of me was annoyed that cancelled trains on the Overground meant having to rush off the moment the last note faded, then having to trundle all the way from northeast to southeast London on a bus replacement service. But in the big scheme of things what a short journey, what a small price to pay, to experience such great music!
FULL BAND LIST
Reading from left to right, and front to back:
Brigitte Beraha – voice
Freddie Gavita – trumpet
Mike Soper – trumpet/flugel
Anoushka Nanguy – trombone
Matt Carmichael – tenor sax
Rob Cope – bass clarinet, baritone sax, flute
Claire Cope – piano, synth, compositions
Ant Law – guitar
Jon Ormston – drums
Gavin Barras – double bass
Jack McCarthy – percussion
LINK: Claire Cope’s website
The Kickstarter to fund the album was successful, with 98 backers, and has now closed
