Music / contemporary jazz
Review: The Great Harry Hillman Canteen, Bristol
There was wild west tumult outside the Canteen as The Great Harry Hillman started their set but, if the band were aware of the flying glasses and upturned tables it didn’t show. The Swiss foursome were on the last date of what was only their second UK visit, and their complex contemporary jazz-rock had the confident sheen of something well bedded down on the road. Theirs is almost a poppy sound, with witty melody to the fore and compelling rhythms underpinning them, yet there was a clear calculation to ell those elements that gave depth to even the most whimsical moments.
The music was highly composed, elaborate melody lines sometimes woven into tight unison between Nils Fischer’s bass clarinet and David Koch’s guitar, while at other times the guitar played intricate rhythmic games with Samuel Huwyler on bass and Dominik Mahnig’s drums as the reedy clarinet sound floated more freely. There was a playful intellect behind all this, as in The New Fragrance which began with a stuttering monotone of guitar and bass to a one-step drum beat while the bass clarinet gently elaborated a simple tune sequence. When the guitar took over the melody everything slipped into a smooth and schmaltzy coastalong that, over time, got grittier and grittier until it was an emphatic three-time slam coda. The mood shifts made perfect sense and the transitions were seamless.
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Similar reconstructions underpinned 354 Degrees, the heavy prog bass line anchoring the piece through a quietly spacious section, long-delayed guitar notes left hanging over scattering drum shots, that abruptly stopped and restarted as a subdued reprise. It was a perfectly judged whole that held attention throughout, as did all their pieces – including the one that started with a rich polyrhythmic opening only to end after about ten seconds and the Zappa-esque How To Dice An Onion with its remarkable moments of unison playing in the midst of apparent frenzy.
As with other musically successful combos the band’s sound reflected the styles of all four players, allowing them to play their best – and they are all really skilled – but special mention must go to Nils Fischer’s bass clarinet. It’s a tricky instrument to master and many excellent saxophonists have come to grief trying to adapt to it but Nils played with complete fluency and absolute sureness of tone whether for the usual honking low notes or his more unorthodox use of its high register. Even bearing in mind the likes of Julian Arguelles I would say that this was possibly the best jazz performance with a bass clarinet that I have ever heard, and that it was done so deftly and playfully at times was doubly impressive.
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