Soft on the Inside Antilles/Island
1. Soft On The Inside
Solos - Kevin Robinson (flugelhorn) Dave Buxton (piano) Steve Lodder (synth) Orphy Robinson (vibes) Andy Sheppard (tenor saxophone) Ernst Reisjeger (cello)
2. Rebecca's Silk Stockings
Solos - Chris Biscoe (alto saxophone) Ernst Reisjeger (cello) Gary Valente (trombone) Claude Deppa (trumpet) Andy Sheppard (tenor saxophone)
3. Carla Carla Carla Carla
Solos - Pete Hurt (bass clarinet) Steve Lodder (synth) Orphy Robinson (vibes) Dave Buxton (piano) Andy Sheppard (tenor saxophone) Mamadi Karnara (percussion)
4. Adventures In The Rave Trade Part One (Smoking)
Solo - Gary Valente (trombone)
Part Two (Burning)
Solos - Orphy Robinson (vibes) Steve Lodder (synth) Chris Biscoe (alto saxophone) Andy Sheppard (tenor saxophone) Han Bennink (drums) joined by Simon Gore (drums).
Sleeve Notes
All music composed and arranged by Andy Sheppard.
Dedicated to Gil, Carla and George.
Produced by Steve Swallow.
Band personnel Han Bennink (drums) Chris Biscoe (alto, tenor and soprano saxophones) Dave Buxton (acoustic piano, synth) Claude Deppa (trumpet, percussion) Simon Gore (drums) Pete Hurt (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet) Mamadi Kamara (percussion) Steve Lodder (synth) Pete Maxfield (bass) Ernst Reisjeger (electric cello & cello) Kevin Robinson (trumpet, flugel horn, percussion) Orphy Robinson (vibes, marimba) Andy Sheppard (tenor and soprano saxophones) Gary Valente (trombone) Mano Ventura (guitar).
The music for this album was commissioned by the jazz Partnership with funds from Greater London Arts, and first performed at the Half Moon Theatre London on November 4th, 1989. Recorded at Angel Studios, London on November 6, 7, 8 and 9, 1989. Engineered by John Timperley. Mixed at Grog Kill Studio, Willow, New York between December 12 and 22, 1989. Engineer Tom Mark. Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York on February 9, 1990. Copying by Dave Buxton.
Thanks to John Cumming, John Ellson, Caroll, Gary, Elizabeth at Serious; Rob Partridge. David Crow, and Nicky Kemp at Antilles; Bill Strode. Dave Kent, jade Campbell, Inn Middleton for live sound and tour management; John Timperley and Frank at Angel, Tom Mark (and Harv) at Grog Kill; Steve Swallow (always in safe hands); the master chef, at 'La Flambee', Grog Kill (third ear); Katie Radford, Lisa and Julian at the Hill plus the film crew; Filippo Bianchi, Livio Testa and Clusone jazz for the original opportunity; Rebecca, Ginnie and Kate, and Geoff Williams for inspiration; Larry for help; and Michael Mantler for assistance beyond the call of duty.
And the rhythmical personages of the band for being on time.
Duke Ellington once claimed he could tell if a musician would fit into his band simply by seeing how he played poker. Andy Sheppard's approach may not be quite so specialised, yet he certainly shares Ellington's concern about picking musicians with strong identities. Andy bore that in mind when, in the autumn of 1989, he set about expanding his regular sextet for a series of concerts. The idea was to form a big band, but big bands come in varied sizes. This one, by a happy historical coincidence, turns out to have the same number of horn players - two trumpets, one trombone, three saxophones - as the band Ellington took into the Cotton Club in 1927.
The trumpet players contrast nicely, Claude Deppa's flamboyance ("He's got this amazing fire," Andy says, "He screams!") balanced by the gravitas of Kevin Robinson ("Very precise, he kind of keeps Claude in check"). Gary Valente, usually a mainstay of Carla Bley's Band, is the hard man of the trombone, yet passionate rather than garrulous. Prepared to plead as well as rant. Apart from the Peruvian?born guitarist, Mano Ventura, the remainder of the band is built around Andy's regular sextet ? with African roots suggested by the marimba that Orphy Robinson always keeps alongside his vibes and the gallery of percussion presided over by Marmadi Kamara.
The emphasis elsewhere is on doubling, or in the case of the saxophones, trebling up yet with a difference. So the acoustic piano is partnered by a synthesizer, the double bass by a cello. And there are two kit drummers, usually a risky tactic but succeeding here because of the way Simon Gore and Han Bennink complement rather than compete with on. Another. Bennink, just like the cellist Ernst Reisjeger has for quite a few years now been part of the jokey tradition of Dutch avant garde Flaying, witty, ironic, and above all unpredictable. Yet few drummers can swing a band so fervently, so ferociously.
In composing for the group Andy drew upon his own experience. "I never worked in a conventional big band," he says, "But I recorded with Gil Evans and a French big band, Lumiere and I've toured with George Russell and Carla Slay. And, by the way," he adds, "it's Carla's bass player, Steve Swallow, who produced the album." Some of the pieces build from the gossiping of horns and percussion; others pile up layers of riffing. All make constant use of individual players' sounds and styles, all mix the intimacy and relaxation of a small group with a big band's power and confidence.
Good jazz soloists start off by copying their heroes before coming up with a personal style. Andy has given his own explanation of the way that happens: "It's like a mountain you have to climb before you can get to the top. Then you jump off and do your own thing". The same metaphor, much more energetic than sitting down to play poker, comes in just as handily to cope with leading and writing for a big band. For Andy Sheppard it has meant a fresh ascent, another exciting leap.
CHARLES FOX