COMPOSERS: Dinosaur
LABELS: Edition Records
ALBUM TITLE: DINOSAUR
WORKS: Together, As One
PERFORMER: Laura Jurd (trumpet, synth), Elliot Galvin (keyboards), Conor Chaplin (bass guitar), Corrie Dick (drums)
CATALOGUE NO: EDN1078
Hearing young horn player Laura Jurd’s work, it’s hard to credit that she is a Radio 3 New Generation artist, but only in the sense that she is already so accomplished. Together, As One – her third album as leader – has the varied textures and dynamic range of a George Russell project. But, with its dark electronic elements, it also has the mood swings and edginess of a late era Miles Davis record. And all this from a quartet. In a programme of eight seductively evocative original compositions, ‘Extinct’, for example, begins with the band interacting conspiratorially, Jurd’s trumpet making baby elephant calls around them. As the extended piece moves on, the group sound, carried by a Hammond organ groove, coalesces and Jurd brings it soulfully home. By contrast, the churchy ‘Steadily Sinking’, and the spooky ‘Interlude’ are just glimpses of something more sinister. It’s intriguing and beguiling music.
Garry Booth