British guitarist Ant Law joins forces here with Milan-born Turkish-British singer Brigitte Beraha for a short but emotionally potent set.
Law is a stalwart of the UK jazz scene, but this album represents a couple of significant musical departures for him. He has explained that “It’s incredibly rare for me to play the acoustic steel-strung guitar, but that instrument is at the centre of this album, alongside Brigitte’s voice. It’s also unusual for me to collaborate with vocalists/lyricists and I am amazed at the depth and colour Brigitte’s poetry has brought to this music.”
The album kicks off with a sparse but impassioned rendition of A Kiss to Build a Dream On, a song made famous by Louis Armstrong. Three originals follow – Ensconced (by my side), Clever Hans and From A-Z. Each is brief, between two and three minutes, but they deliver emotional intensity and much sonic interplay between the two musicians.
The pair then broaden the sonic palette. Greek bassist Petros Klampanis and Cuban drummer Ernesto Simpson join for a reworking of the 2020 Law composition Harvest. Beraha picks out the lead melody with her wordless vocals as Simpson’s driving off-kilter drum groove brings a fresh dimension to the piece.
Above Water features electronics courtesy of Max Luthert, saxophone from Duncan Eagles and drumming by Jamie Murray.Further electronic touches embellish the beautiful Who We Are, which features a piano solo from Kit Downes.
The record closes as it began, just guitar and voice delivering a stripped back rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s Some Other Time.
Ensconced is the best kind of duo record, where two artists create something new through a fusion of their respective influences and approaches, Beraha’s inspired and moving vocal performances perfectly complementing Law’s guitar work. It feels like they could have a lot more territory to explore together. Meanwhile this first offering features an admirable range of sonic colours and moods and songs that honour tradition while executing them in a thoroughly contemporary fashion.
