Guitarist Jakub Klimiuk’s quintet album (un)balanced announces itself with twenty-seven seconds of piping, squawking bubbling arpeggios from a saxophone that pause, as if for thought, then launch off in a new direction, before finding a satisfying resolution. It’s the first of five ‘studies’, by different band members, sprinkled between the seven originals from the pen of the leader.
Simeon May’s saxophone study is an arresting start immediately followed by the insistent riff of Illusion, rhythmically off-kilter and propulsive. The theme of sinuous hooks, punctuated by scampering fills from Cody Moss on piano and Harry Pearce on bass, gives way to expansive soloing with Klimiuk rocking out as the band builds to a climax. Absence of Colour has a contrasting atmosphere, a slow progression with an angular melodic line, nudged along by Adam Merrell’s drums.
There’s a satisfying arc to the solos and May leads the band to a keening, tumultuous conclusion. Casio is a Brazilian-flavoured piece with a pleasing theme and some reflective turns in the soloing. Mark Lockheart features on Sceptical, an evocative, melancholic piece introduced with an impressionistic exploration between guitar and Lockheart’s sax, before the band build a carefully composed tapestry to launch a searching solo from Lockheart. Dualism is a slowly unfolding ballad, the band making patient use of space and silence, Wait has a looser, freewheeling feel, with a Moss’s piano solo showcasing the group’s capacity to listen, move as unit and gather momentum as ideas develop. Distance starts with a meditative air and then twists, turns and evolves into an urgent clamour before finally subsiding.
This is a thoroughly absorbing set. Klimiuk’s writes extended, carefully constructed pieces, often with intricate detail, that conjure distinct and varying moods and provide a platform for imaginative development from the ensemble. The band have thoroughly digested the material and play with a freedom and energy that bring the pieces to vivid life.
(un)balanced is released today 1 May and the launch is at the Vortex tonight / Ticket link below
Mike Collins is a pianist and writer based in Bristol, who runs the jazzyblogman site
