Music / contemporary jazz
STRATA-spheric jazz grooves from an all-star line-up
When trombonist Liam Shortall was picking the very best of Glasgow’s thriving Nu-Jazz scene for his highly danceable corto.alto collective there was only ever going to be one choice for drummer – the fearsome groove machine that is Graham Costello. And on piano? Well it had to be two-time Scottish Young Jazz Musician of the Year and soon-to-be Mercury Prize nominee Fergus McCreadie – recently seen at a spellbinding trio gig in Bristol’s The Mount Without. So when Mr Costello wanted a crew for his own neo-minimalist project he duly returned the favour, calling up Liam and Fergus as well as corto:alto’s firebrand sax player Harry Weir.
Factor in classical and contemporary guitarist Kevin Cahill and top bassist Gus Stirrat and you have the all-star line-up of STRATA, Graham Costello’s vehicle for his own compositions. Unlike corto:alto’s often hectic exuberance, STRATA embodies Graham’s more disciplined musical philosophy, which he sums up thus: “I love minimalism, human repetition and cyclic grooves. I write music inspired by that.”
But if that suggests something a bit lifeless and sterile, think again. Reviews of the band’s 2021 sophomore album Second Lives were quick to emphasise the music’s energy and impact. Clash Magazine said it was “a tour de force, an astonishing piece of work that obeys no rules aside from its own.” While Jazzwise made it one of their 2021 albums of the year, with the editor praising its “raw-noise excursions, infectious minimalist loops, lyrically meditative short interludes, chord-punching rock and thrilling drumming from the leader.”
is needed now More than ever
Graham Costello’s STRATA at Ronnie Scott’s
The music may have been carefully composed but Graham Costello knows better than to squander the talent at his disposal, and the band’s reputation for live improvisation has grown alongside their recorded success. He explains the process clearly: “On Second Lives I wrote 98% of what you hear … I wanted a clear distinction between the album version and the live version. A section that may be 30 seconds long on the album could be expanded and developed to 15 minutes when played live.”
Playing at Dareshack the band will also be able to exploit the venue’s awesome 360 degree D&B Sound PA set-up. Developed in their Stroud workshop, the D&B technology – which allows engineers to precisely locate or move individual instruments across a quadrophonic field – has revolutionised sound installation at festivals including WOMAD and the recent JazzStroud weekend. The potential for soundscaping the looping, minimalist elements of Graham’s music is going to be an enticing addition to one of the hottest acts on the UK’s contemporary jazz scene.
Graham Costello’s STRATA play Dareshack on Wednesday 7 June.
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