1. Space Junk [4:29]; 2. Weathergirls [6:18]; 3.One Morning [8:59]; 4.Above The Sun [7:34]; 5.The Wind On The Water [5:04]; 6.King Barolo [9:18]; 7.Wax
Lyrical [7:48]; 8.Devilled [3:49]; 9.Tawel Nawr (Quiet Now) [3:16]
Tim Garland (soprano & tenor sax, bass clarinet), Gwilym Simcock (piano, melodica on 1), Asaf Sirkis (drums, percussion, hang drum)
Recorded, mixed and mastered By Curtis Schwartz at Curtis Schwartz
Studio, Ardingly, West Sussex, UK. Recorded 22-24 November, 2011,
mixed and mastered December 2011. [56:17]
The name Lighthouse is inspired by the St.Mary’s Lighthouse that
stands 500 metres off England’s north east coast near Whitley Bay
and not far from the Scottish border. It is close to where the composer
and saxophonist Tim Garland set up home after being appointed as composer-in-residence
at nearby Newcastle University. It was Garland’s idea of presenting
live some of his compositions on bass clarinet that he recorded inside
the lighthouse and later orchestrated that gave birth to the Lighthouse
Trio once he had recruited his former student at the Royal Academy
of Music in London pianist Gwilym Simcock, along with Asaf Sirkis,
that magical drummer who has played as hand drummer with Gilad Atzmon’s
Orient House Ensemble to such well deserved acclaim. It was for this
trio that Sirkis created a specially developed drum kit that is capable
of producing some amazingly surprising sounds resulting in a trio
that sounds far greater than the sum of its parts. All the tunes are
originals with the overall impression being one of wonder at the inventiveness
and pure musicality of them, each highly catchy, making you want to
play the disc over and over again. Gwilym Simcock is a fantastic pianist
who plays with the assuredness that comes from a lifetime of playing
but is there in spades right now. Tim Garland is such a wonderful
player whichever of the three instruments he tackles on this disc,
his tone warm and beautifully round, and Sirkis’ percussion and drumming
is the final vitally essential ingredient that completes a musical
alchemy that adds up to a hugely satisfying experience. The cd kicks
off with a great fast and furious funky number called Space Junk
after a satellite that broke up and fell to earth in 2011 in pieces
the size of a fridge. The use of a melodica is perfect for this little
tune giving it a metallic sound akin to a honky-tonk piano straight
out of a pub and which accurately describes the metal fragments as
they hurtle earthbound. It certainly grabs your attention and the
second track Weathergirls is another great tune and one that
all three musicians had a hand in writing and is well described in
the liner notes as being “Breezy, bright with occasional stormy patches”
– couldn’t put it better if I tried. Track three One Morning is
a beautiful and beautifully slow ballad that showcases Asaf Sirkis’
undoubted talents in hand drumming, accompanied by Simcock’s wonderful
pianism and Garland’s silky, lyrical tenor sax. Above the Sun
is a tune influenced by flamenco and a “reply to a previous Lighthouse
tune, Bajo de Sol” say the players, and as bajo
means below in Spanish the reference is clear and the tune
is another winner. The Wind On The Water describes “Midnight
walks along a Northumbrian beach. ‘Lucky’ barks at the luminous waves
that reach for us under the stars and a giant moon” and anyone who
knows beaches like those near Bamburgh Castle and Lindisfarne, aided
by Garland’s wonderfully lilting soprano sax, can well imagine the
scene with those wonderfully wide expanses of sand lapped by the north
sea, and, if you don’t then get your tickets booked! King Barolo
is dedicated to Malcolm Creese, founder of Acoustic Triangle
a classical/jazz trio that these musicians have also worked with and
whose generosity following gigs often extends to the opening of a
bottle of Portugal’s famous and inky black, gorgeously luscious wine,
Barolo, a perfect wine to quaff whilst listening – again
if you haven’t tried it now’s the time to do so while this number
is spinning in your player! Wax Lyrical is Simcock’s tribute
to Stan Sulzman the great British saxophonist who he has enjoyed working
with over the years and who has been an inspiration to him. Slow and
thoughtful, this tune shows Simcock’s delicate treatment in the piano
role while Garland’s mellifluous soprano sax gently accompanies and
Sirkis’ restrained drumming points out the calm embodied within the
piece. We’re brought right back to earth with Devilled a
frenetic little number which is another tribute, this time to Bill
Bruford, drummer with Yes/King Crimson and Prog Rock pioneer, whose
band Earthworks both Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock have worked with.
The disc is nicely rounded off with Tawel Nawr (Quiet Now)
“A little bedtime story” bearing a welsh title in a nod to Simcock’s
origins and 3minutes and 16 seconds of gentle, blissful music to send
you off to sleep happy that a trio like this exists and the hope that
The Lighthouse Trio continues to shine its beacon out to
help illuminate the world of jazz for many years to come!
Steve Arloff
CD Reviews
ACT 9525-2
