Opening the year's jazz coverage with a flashback to the 1980s is a bold move, but it's a necessary one to understand the significance of Iain Ballamy's captivating new album, Riversphere Vol 1. This release marks the first solo project in years from the saxophonist who first emerged as a visionary talent on the British scene four decades ago, and its cross-generational brilliance shows exactly why his influence has endured.
From Loose Tubes to a New Flow
In the mid-80s, Ballamy, alongside pianist Django Bates, became known as a maverick force. They showed deep respect for jazz tradition while playfully and adventurously reshaping it. Both were central figures in Loose Tubes, the revolutionary orchestra that fused swing, vaudeville, improvisation, and avant-rock into a uniquely British sound that famously got crowds dancing in the streets.
The concept behind Riversphere draws a parallel between the merging of waterways and the confluence of musical ideas across genres, between players, and within the space where composed pieces meet spontaneous creation. Leading an A-list quartet, Ballamy's evocative and beautifully measured saxophone tone is supported by guitarist Rob Luft, whose atmospheric style echoes Bill Frisell, bassist Conor Chaplin, and drummer Corrie Dick.
An Exquisite Blend of Sound and Lineage
The ensemble is augmented on three tracks by the empathetic trumpet of Laura Jurd and Ballamy's own son, the promising Charlie Ballamy. This familial and generational link is poignantly highlighted on the album's exquisitely harmonised finale, As Time Passes.
The music itself is a masterclass in texture and mood. The opening Harmonique sees horns and guitar morph from folk-like melodies into raw, bent-note expressions. Unresolved features wistful guitar and sustained saxophone lines drifting over softly evolving drum patterns. A cover of Frisell's Strange Meeting places slow tenor sax exhalations amidst ringing treble guitar notes.
Further demonstrating the album's breadth are two yearning songs by Chico Buarque and Antonio Carlos Jobim, which warmly reflect both Ballamy's love for Latin jazz and North European ambient music, as well as Luft's versatility as both a tone-poet and a nimble post-bop soloist.
More Jazz to Explore This Month
Riversphere Vol 1 is a standout release, with Volume 2 already confirmed for later this year. It is joined by several other notable jazz albums this month.
Double bassist Thomas Morgan's Around You Is a Forest features duets with stars like Craig Taborn and Ambrose Akinmusire, but centres on Morgan's own 'Woods' instrument—a virtual invention mimicking lutes and harps to create fascinating, if sometimes limiting, soundscapes.
UK guitarist Tom Ollendorff's Where in the World creatively expands his attuned trio with US piano star Aaron Parks, delivering everything from fast groovers to elegant melodies. Finally, the late, great British pianist John Taylor's live 2002 trio recording, Tramonto, is a welcome release, capturing the magic of the group that made the iconic Rosslyn album.
Iain Ballamy's Riversphere Vol 1 is not merely a return; it is a compelling affirmation of a lifelong musical journey, flowing as powerfully and inventively as ever.
