Music / contemporary jazz
Review: Sophie Stockham with Strings Ria Album Launch, Glass Room, St George’s
Whether it was because of solidarity, curiosity or simply trust in one of Bristol’s most reliably talented musicians, St George’s Glass Room was full for this unusual gig. Unusual because while saxophonist Sophie Stockham has impeccable credentials in the jazz scene through bands like Dakhla Brass, Sefrial, Starlings and Orfic – as well as a fine name for grooving in the Cut Capers line-up – this neo-classical string ensemble represented a whole new musical direction. Conceived in lockdown and despite Sophie having no formal musical training, her new album Ria is a suite of carefully composed pieces for string quartet augmented by double bass and, naturally, tenor saxophone.
Sophie Stockham With Strings (pic: Tony Benjamin)
So matters were conducted with the formality of a classical concert, the musicians – violinists Paul Barrett and Hugh Blogg, viola player Frances Higgs, cellist Juliet McCarthy and double bass player Dave Ayre – filing on behind Sophie with conductor Andrew (aka Drew) Morgan taking his place on a rostrum in front of them. The first piece – Aber – began without introduction, swooning strings behind a gently swinging sax line establishing a relaxed mood before the more confrontative dynamics of Flo, which Sophie explained as an exploration of a female musician overcoming the pressures to conform and instead finding her own voice.
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The message clearly applied to Sophie’s experience, not least in claiming the right to venture into this more classical world of composition and instrumentation, and what became clear was the wisdom of using the tenor sax rather than alto, the range of the instrument sitting in the midst of the strings and allowing for a rich sonic blend with melodic phrases passed between sax, viola and cello. This was especially effective on the single Dream Pin, brisk pizzicato violins eventually moving through bouncing bows into rhythmic games behind Sophie’s eloquent and yearning solo sax line. The whole piece accelerated through a groove to fall back into a wayward final chord, all the dynamics faultlessly executed thanks to Drew’s restrained but precise conducting.
Sophie Stockham With Strings (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Given this was her first excursion into the world of string composition it was impressive what a consistent voice came through the music, suggesting Sophie had quickly found her feet in this way of working. New pieces like Vincent (dedicated to the challenging singer/composer St Vincent) clearly took her ideas forward, this time with a more emphatic and eloquent bass-line part for Dave Ayres underpinning a call and response between the sax and the strings. And it was also interested to hear what happened when Sophie sat out and left the string players to perform her arrangement of Gospel Pass, a piano piece from Pete Judge’s first album of solo keyboard music. The result was both faithful to the original and transformative in the harmonic textures of the arrangement.
Sophie Stockham With Strings (pic: Tony Benjamin)
There were plenty of ideas on show during the set, like the aggressive pulse of violins and viola and simmering menace of crescendos in Sound Less, the Philip Glass-like arpeggios driving a sultry sax line through Sooke or the lyrical Mahleresque sumptuousness of Blue Fern and it was all faultlessly delivered throughout. By the end Sophie’s face registered the sheer achievement of the evening while a very long ovation showed the audience’s satisfaction with what they heard. It is to be hoped that this is not the only time the music gets performed – so much work has clearly gone into realising it and it certainly deserves a wider hearing if possible.
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