Lynnville by Leigh Barker

Recording Information

Recorded live on June the seventeenth 2007 at Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne, Australia.

Live recording engineer: Jem Savage (Rare Jem Studios).
Produced and Mixed by Jem and Leigh.
Mastered by Phillip Rex
Album graphic design by Anton Delecca
Album Art by John Scurry – the work, ‘Little River Landscape, 2001’ has been reproduced with permission from the artist.



Liner Notes

There was once a time when American jazz musicians, tragically, would roll their eyes when presented with the opportunity to play with non-Americans. Be they European, African, Asian or from Australia, many Americans didn't believe that the music could be played with authenticity unless it was played by those indigenous to the birthplace of jazz. That time, as we can now hear with clarity, has passed. Those of us in the know always knew that jazz was available to all who choose to play it with respect. Just as a farm boy from the Midwestern US can play Rachmaninoff, a talented young person from Melbourne can swing an acoustic bass with the very best of them.

Leigh Barker has always dedicated himself to finding the truth in music. No matter how difficult the search, he has stayed the course. That course has led him to many aching muscles and blistered fingers in pursuit of the full, musky, thick, buoyant sound he gives those strings on this, his latest recording. Since I've known Leigh, he has coupled this pursuit of instrumental excellence with an equally vigorous quest to compose original music. Not content to scrawl out some odd but incongruous chord changes and fit some notes around them in a desire to appear aurally clever, the results are shown here with a strong originality that feels somehow familiar; a tough balance to achieve.

We get a full serving of what Leigh has to offer on this collection. Opening with a rollicking New Orleans-infused groove, "Fortunate Seas" gets everyone in the band off to a focused and glorious beginning. Slowing down and relaxing a bit, the next three tracks, "Beethoven Blues", "Lynnville" and "In the Country with Bill", act as almost a trilogy of sorts, each having distinct approaches. In "Beethoven" we hear an accordion instead of piano. Lots of people use accordion these days, but it's often in a throwback genre, or something so far removed from jazz that it becomes something else. Not here. The instrument provides an underpinning for the trumpet and soprano sax that I haven't heard before.
"Lynnville" gives us many strains of influence tied together. A melancholy ballad, the soprano and growling trumpet trade sorrows and sighs that lead into an introspective stride piano groove over which Barker plays a fierce quiet-storm of a bass solo. Somewhat returning to the feeling of the opener, "In the Country with Bill" is a swinging delight of blues and gospel with a lilt that never leaves us.

Perhaps the centerpiece of the set is the ten-minute sprawling composition entitled "Guts of Steel". This is a woven tapestry of grooves that gives each band member time to shine. The pianist, Matt Boden, lays down a forthright and deeply-pocketed solo to start us off correctly. Breaking down into a jagged free section, the trumpeter, Eamon McNelis, ups the ante into a fiery, racing ride showing his love of Freddie Hubbard and Miles Davis. Before the band burns out we get another shift, leading to a slower yet still intense tenor solo from John Felstead. Somehow none of these sections feels disjunct, as Leigh and his formidable drummer, Al McGrath-Kerr, make the transitions seamless.

We end, as all things should end, with something that we know, yet are still learning about. "Hoegaarden Blues" is a new composition that fits into the continuum of great blues songs. Leigh is absolutely commanding on this track. Listen to his note choices and how they propel the drums while complimenting the soloist. That's what I want to hear. And you can tell that's what the crowd wanted to hear too. I love the thought of this crowd of folks down in Melbourne coming out to hear these local musicians playing music every bit as good if not better than anything you could find in New York City these days. I wish there were more people here in NYC that loved to swing as much as these guys do. But our gain would surely be Australia's loss, so we'll have to just hope they come up for a visit sometime. I, for one, will be in the front row ready to yell.

-Doug Wamble
 Bronx, NY
 June 18, 2008

Photo : Mélanie Robin www.melanierobin.fr

Barking Mad Music is a boutique production company based in Melbourne Australia and Paris France, enabling a worldwide reach presenting the finest consumable content in Jazz Blues and Swing.

barkingmadmusic.com
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter