Music / British jazz
Review: 6161/t.l.k. , The Forge
Many people would acknowledge Matt Stockham-Brown to be the best drummer in Bristol and, to judge by the number of fellow sticks merchants in the crowded Forge, many of those people are themselves also pretty nifty drummers. Having recently left the highly successful Run Logan Run Matt launched 6161 at the 2023 Bristol Jazz Festival and this was a rare chance to catch up with this fascinating change of musical direction.
t.l.k. (pic: Tony Benjamin)
It was not just drummers in the audience – it seemed like almost half the crowd were notable musicians from the hip end of the Bristol jazz scene and, no doubt, many were also there to see t.l.k.’s opening set. Shorn of the band or string section she has played with in the past this was pure solo performance, just her voice and keyboards. As a result it was quite dramatically intimate, with gently fluttering vocalisations looped over sepulchral organ chords on Next To The Mirror or the stronger-voiced declamations over cleverly harmonised piano chords for Lioness. Moments of spacious shapelessness hinted at Cocteau Twins-era Liz Fraser, while occasional bleaknesses reached back farther to Nico’s solo work. It was all so personal that it almost felt intrusive to be watching. But you also had to marvel at the strength of personality and artistic conviction that such an apparently fragile performance demands. It was spellbinding and she was rewarded with the absolute pin-drop attention she deserved (and a roof-raising ovation at the end).
6161: Jake McMurchie, Sophie Stockham-Brown, Pete Judge, Tom Taylor. (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Things took a turn for the brasher with 6161, an all-star sextet with four horn players, synth bass and Matt Stockham-Brown behind the drum kit. Their music was all composed and arranged by Matt (bar a cheeky Squarepusher cover slipped in for the encore) and it covered a nice range from sleazy film noir to carnivalesque polyrhythms and skronky swagger. The opening number set a rollicking pace with Jake McMurchie’s tenor sax screeching a solo over raucous brass chords and big drums, but then the next tune (no names were offered) was framed around a light-touch duet between Jake and Matt, with Sophie Stockham Brown’s tenor and Tom Taylor’s baritone layering into a brass chorale topped by Pete Judge on trumpet. The composition had echoes of the much-missed Dakhla Brass that Sophie, Pete and Matt were all part of.
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6161: Dan Moore, Matt Stockham-Brown (pic: Tony Benjamin)
One track had an almost theatrical structure, shifting sonic scenery as elements moved in parallel at different speeds. Spells of strong soloing were balanced by a variety of instrumental combinations with Matt’s drumming completely absent at times, replaced by a sonorous bass pulse from Dan Moore’s Moog. Eventually the piece’s strong musical themes broke loose and gave way to free-blowing chaos. It was that fine alchemy of imaginative writing being put into very capable hands and the result was a distinctive voice for the band – no mean achievement at so early a stage in its development.
6161 (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Needless to say it all proved highly crowd-pleasing stuff and stoked its way to a nicely climactic ending topped off by that aforementioned Squarepusher tribute, gently rolling drums propelling enmeshed brass harmonies towards a pleasing climax. Naturally such a bunch of talent had acquitted itself really well, whether delivering some excellent solos or playing out the complexities of the charts but full credit must go to Matt Stockham-Brown for the imagination and artistry of his compositions.
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