Julian Argüelles – ‘Doublespeak’

Diving into Doublespeak, Julian Argüelles’ latest release, and Listening to (Get Down) and Give Me 50), was a thrilling reminder of the distinctive sound and the urgent sense of momentum the composer/ reedsman conjures. The tumbling, swirling tenor lines are by turns hoarse and anguished then guttural and feisty, delivered over a shuffling riff with a bluesy edge to it. The track is the fourth of twelve crisply delivered pieces on the album.

‘Give me 50’ has Martin France guesting on drums and the visceral mounting excitement and energy owes much to his dazzling skein of rhythm wrapped around Argüelles’ lines.  They’re at it again on Superspreader, the theme this time comprising of jagged phrases, with Argüellian twisting, turns of phrases scattered over a hectic carpet of percussion and drums provided by France. The musical relationship between these two goes back nearly 40 years and, with France’s sadly-too-soon, recent death, the recording poignantly now serves as a fitting testament to the vivacity and instinctiveness of their work together.

There are varying moods across the 12 pieces. Pale Blue Dot conjures a dreamy air, with languid phrases drifting over gradually shifting, hooting motifs. Biafra has chanting, intertwined calls from saxophones over infectious polyrhythms laid down this time by Helge Andreas Norbakken. Hippopotamus is another shuffling groover, drums courtesy of Julian’s brother Steve Argüelles, and Murmuration finds two saxophones swirling and dancing around each other before settling on a simple jig.

It would be easy not to notice that this is an album produced and performed in the studio entirely by Argüelles apart from his three guests. There’s a fluid and spontaneous feel to all the music, so characteristic of all his writing and playing. Nevertheless, pay attention and the layers of horns and repeating sections are all him. He’s no stranger to this way of creating music. An album Scapes, originally released in the 90s and more recently re-released by Editions, similarly comprised solely Argüelles’ saxophones.

Talking about how the album was made and the possibilities provided by technology, Argüelles speaks of his desire not to make its use too obvious, and to make an album that  ‘appeals on its own merit’.  If by that he meant putting the playing and compositions in the foreground, then he’s succeeded in spades.  This is an absorbing, joyful and uplifting set, par for the course for one of the scene’s most consistently creative and emotionally compelling musicians.

Mike Collins is a pianist and writer based in Bristol, who runs the jazzyblogman site