GARETH ROBERTS QUINTET - The attack of the killer penguins

Adolygiad gan MASSIMO RICCI - www.touchingextremes.org

A good sip of British jazz is what I need when I want to get some lessons in arrangement and a few moments of inner peace corroborated by fabulous musicianship. The Gareth Roberts Quintet provides this and much more in a stunning debut album whose cover is graced by a greatly funny artwork by Rhys Bevan Jones.

Roberts quotes Charles Mingus and Horace Silver as a compositional influence, but his music is skilful and personal: it makes you want to dance but can also bring out memories from childhood. The quintet is formed by Roberts on trombone, Marcin Wright on saxes and clarinet, Paul Jones on piano, Chris O'Connor on bass and Mark O'Connor on drums. These gentlemen play composed meters like a drink of water (check "Dysgu cifri", that means "Learning to count", to have an idea), even constructing a whole piece on something like the 17/8 of the title track. Traditional melodies like the initial "Wrth fynd efo Deio i Dywyn" are rearranged in fine manner, themes and solos exposed with witty consciousness and brilliant tone. In that sense, the intertwining phrasing of Roberts and Wright is a thing of beauty; one moment raucous irony prevails, only to be replaced by almost mourning reflections ("A tribute to an axed piano", "Never ending journey"). The O'Connors are a refined force of nature whose interplay does not dare to caress the obvious, but Jones is maybe the real ace in the hole of the band: his chordal mastery is a malleable glue for Roberts' harmonies, which try to conjure up ghosts of Dave Brubeck, McCoy Tyner and Burt Bacharach all in the space of a single track ("Going nowhere fast" - incidentally, the superimposition of Roberts' quasi-ostinato trombone theme on the 5/4 groove of this tune is probably my overall favourite moment of the record) and constitute the effective link to an elegant authenticity shining in a class of its own.

When one listens to a new release three times in about ten hours - which I did here - it usually means we're in presence of something truly special. I can only be thankful that young players like these ones still exist, people capable of writing music that's at one and the same time respectful of the tradition, accessible and gifted with virtuosity, music that will have you feeling much better after you've finished listening to it.

GARETH ROBERTS QUINTET - The attack of the killer penguins (****)

Adolygiad gan IAN MANN - www.thejazzmann.com

Anyone who has visited Brecon Jazz Festival on a regular basis will know that there is a vibrant jazz scene in South Wales and that many fine musicians are based in the area. Among their number is trombonist Gareth Roberts who released this, his debut recording as a leader in 2006.

Roberts is a graduate of the jazz course at the Welsh College Of Music And Drama in Cardiff. This highly regarded course has produced many fine musicians under the tutelage of Paula Gardiner and the legendary Keith Tippett. Many have chosen to remain in the area including pianist Dave Stapleton who last year released the highly regarded quintet album "When Life Was In Black And White".

Roberts trained as an engineer and worked as a maths teacher before becoming a full time musician and perhaps it is these life experiences that lead him to approach his music with an element of humour. A sense of fun is apparent throughout this album not only in the jokey title and the brilliantly quirky and amusing artwork (by Rhys Bevan Jones) but also in the writing and playing of the music itself. Roberts and his band mates sound as if they’re having a ball.

Roberts is joined in the front line by the excellent young saxophonist and clarinettist Marcin Wright who also appeared on the Dave Stapleton album alluded to previously. Paul Jones is an inventive soloist and supportive accompanist at the piano and Chris O’Connor (bass) and Mark O’ Connor (drums) are an experienced and dependable rhythm team.

Jones and the O’Connors combined with guitarist Richard Jones and released the album "Alpha" in 2005 as The Jones O’Connor Group. Having seen this line up at Brecon I can confirm that this album is also well worth hearing.

Since "Penguins" was recorded Wright has departed to live in Italy and his place as a front line soloist in the Roberts quintet has been taken by the accomplished and versatile trumpeter Gethin Liddington. I saw this line up play two enjoyable sets at the recent Lichfield Jazz, Blues and Real Ale Festival. The affable Roberts led the band through a mixture of standards and his own original compositions.

On the album however the accent is very much on original writing with the only outside material being Robert’s arrangement of the traditional Welsh folk tune "Wrth Fynd Efo Deio i Dywyn". This kicks off the album and features Roberts’ rasping trombone and Wright’s dancing clarinet as Wales meets New Orleans with a hint of the Middle East thrown in for good measure. With swinging support from the rhythm section it makes for an invigorating and attention-grabbing opener.

"Neverending Journey" is more cinematic in scope, building from quiet beginnings. Roberts demonstrates both warmth and flexibility on trombone and there are also quality solos from Wright’s probing tenor and from Jones on piano.

Each title is accompanied on the cover by an illustration from Bevan-Jones. "Going Nowhere Fast" features a cartoon dog chasing it’s tail. The music however is wholly engaging and features more inventive soloing from Jones, Roberts and Wright. As elsewhere the trombone also fills a rhythmic role with Roberts’ persistent vamping.

In Roberts’ own words the title track has "a B movie feel and is also extremely silly".It’s also great fun, and the big band version of the tune as played by the Welsh Jazz Composers Orchestra on their recent tour must have been quite something. This features some great horn lines from Roberts and Wright and pounding piano from Jones. There is yet another monster trombone solo from the leader and some belligerent blowing from Wright as the O’Connor boys drive them onward. Stirring stuff.

"A Tribute To An Axed Piano" represents something of a pause for breath with muted trombone and feathery soprano combining with Jones’ delicate piano. The rhythm section also exercises admirable restraint on this elegiac piece which is the nearest the album gets to a ballad.

"Mop Dancing" is dedicated to the long-suffering souls who mop up spilt beer at jazz clubs. It’s a high-spirited romp of a tune with chunky rhythms, rollicking piano, big toned tenor and rootsy, bluesy trombone. You really could dance to this and it must surely be something of a live favourite.

Finally there is "Dysgu Cyfri" (that’s Welsh for "Learning To Count" and an oblique reference to those maths teaching days). It keeps up the jaunty pace and is similar in feel to the album’s opener with Wright’s energetic clarinet playing once more to the fore. There’s more of the leader’s agile and spirited trombone and some snappy drum breaks from Mark O’Connor on this brisk breeze of a tune.
This is a very impressive debut recording from the quintet. Roberts’ writing is imaginative and intelligent but he never takes himself too seriously. As a result there is hardly a dull moment on the album and the band’s real sense of enjoyment communicates itself to the listener. Even the cover makes you laugh.

I must admit that I’m not normally a big fan of the trombone but I found Roberts’ playing to be consistently engaging and enjoyable and the other members of the group are equally impressive. The interplay between the horns of Roberts and Wright is particularly worthy of mention.

Roberts is one busy guy. A visit to his excellent website www.garethtrombone.co.uk suggests that he is in even more bands than Seb Rochford.

At this years Brecon Jazz Festival he will appear on the Stroller programme not only with his quintet, but also with cult heroes and festival regulars The Heavy Quartet, plus the marvellously named Welsh Latin combo Buena Risca Social Club. Gareth was impressed that I, a mere Englishman, actually got the joke.

A full list of gigs, biographical and band details plus a discography are all on his highly informative site.


GARETH ROBERTS QUINTET - The attack of the killer penguins

Adolygiad gan Malcolm Lewis - Planet Magazine

Trombonist (and ex-Cardiff postgrad) Gareth Roberts uses the O’Connor rhythm section plus pianist Paul Jones in his Gareth Roberts Quintet. His writing, and the band’s playing are, as the title of their debut album “The Attack of the Killer Penguins“ suggests, tremendous fun. If you think of jazz and the trombone you probably think of trad and bowler hats. Roberts’ party animals wouldn’t give a damn and could wear bowlers upside down, dance all the way from Cardiff to Brecon, and not miss a note. They’re tight and bright, and fast and loose with the old school stuff.

The rollicking “Wrth Fynd efo Deio i Dywyn”, based on a folk tune, kicks off the album slowly, then hits it between New Orleans, Cairo and Caergwili. “Dysgu Cyfri (learning to count)” which closes it, has the same upbeat oomph and lovely interplay between Roberts, Marcin Wright on clarinet, and Jones. “Neverending Journey” has a sad edge to it and the beautiful, balladic “A Tribute to an axed piano” is quiet, delicate, even funereal. But hey, play most of this album loud and torture yourself by trying not to move a muscle. It’s impossible! Your eyelid will start twitching, your leg will kick – and you’re away…

Adolygiad Fyw- GARETH ROBERTS QUINTET- Cafe Jazz-Caerdydd, Dydd Iau Medi 11, 2008 (****)

Adolygiad gan Ian Mann - www.thejazzmann.com

Trombonist Gareth Roberts is something of a Jazzmann favourite. “Attack Of The Killer Penguins”, the quintet’s excellent 2006 debut is reviewed elsewhere on this site. Behind the jokey title there is some seriously talented writing and musicianship. Roberts may like to inject a sense of humour into his music but this is positively refreshing and the quintet have built a considerable reputation for their excellent live work.

A well attended hometown gig saw Roberts produce two enjoyable sets of originals, mixing “Penguins” tunes with newer as yet unrecorded material. He was joined in the front line by Gethin Liddington on trumpet and a rather distinctive four valved flugel horn. Paul Jones was outstanding on piano and the O’Connor brothers, Chris (bass) and Mark (drums) were a formidable rhyhthm pairing. Liddington has now been with the band for over a year having replaced saxophonist Marcin Wright who appears on the album.
The new material has been written with Liddington in mind and the group hope to record a new album in early 2009. The new tunes featured tonight covered a broad range of styles from the infectious “Shaky Leg Syndrome” to the ballad “Searching” (English translation).

From “Penguins” came the enervating “Mop Dancing” and the 5/4 “Going Nowhere Fast” plus the haunting “A Tribute To An Axed Piano”, a beautiful tune hiding behind a facetious title.

Roberts likes to incorporate jazz arrangements of traditional Welsh folk tunes into his repertoire and tonight featured a fresh arrangement of “The Mother In Law’s Complaint”. However it was a rollicking “Wrth Fynd Efo Deio I Dywyn” (from “Penguins”) that really brought the house down as the band closed the second set. They were called back for an encore, the only outside tune of the night ,Abdullah Ibrahim’s “Mandela”.

Now I’ll admit that I’ve never been a big fan of the trombone but I love Roberts’ playing. Nimble and inventive he seems to bring out the best in the instrument, from gutbucket slides and rasps on the up tempo material to a surprising tenderness on ballads. He makes good use of the mute to expand his sound and plays with great physical resourcefulness plus a sense of humour to augment all that technique. He’s a capable writer too, taking his inspiration from the great Charles Mingus.

Liddington is an excellent foil with a similarly expressive range from brassy trumpet to velvety flugel. When the two brass men link up their unison lines are uplifting but there are also examples of intriguing counterpoint with the two horns playing off each other.
Paul Jones is a superb pianist and contributed several dazzling, almost scene stealing solos as well as performing superbly as an accompanist. It was good to hear him exclusively on acoustic piano after recent sightings on electric keyboards with the Jones O’Connor group. The swing and drive of the O’Connors also added greatly to an enjoyable night’s music. Both enjoyed short solo features over the course of the evening.

Adolygiadau eraill:-

"A treat, Thoroughly Recommended" :- The Trombonist Magazine

"Gareth plays trombone with a strong sense of the trombone tradition...able to move effortlessly from the past to present, and definitely one to watch for the future" :- Dennis Rollins - Ennillyd gwobr y BBC am Band Jazz gorau, 2006.

"A buoyantly groove-centred recording (***) " :- Jazzwise Magazine

"Gareth Roberts' lusty quintet got the first weekend of the London Jazz Festival off to a flying start with a Mingus- like ferocity and
even a nod to Clark Terry and Bob Brookmeyer" :- Jazz UK

"Original, unique, exciting but very listenable jazz" :- Brian Petty, Rhaglen Gwyl Jazz Lichfield 2007

" A great five piece unit, fiery and passionate brass playing at its very best." :- Peter Scaddan www.black-mountain-jazz.org.uk

"Welsh Jazz Trombonist Gareth Roberts is making waves in the local jazz scene" :- The Big Issue

"South Wales saxman Roberts leads his piano trio" :- Metro Caerdydd 01/09/07