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Unfurl at Scarborough Jazz Club, 15 January 2015

If a band takes opportunity between numbers to introduce not the musicians, but the instruments, you know this isn’t your average night at the jazz club. But then how many jazz groups can count the 93-string santoor in their inventory? This, along with the tabla and a range of other percussion instruments from different parts of the world give an idea of Unfurl’s musical influences and it’s no surprise that a good number of the pieces are introduced as being based on Indian ragas. Add to this electric guitar, double bass and violin, and you have quite a distinctive quintet with an equally interesting repertoire.

The gulf that sometimes exists between audiences of different genres of music is highlighted as percussionist Adam Warne explains what a cajon is. Many of this jazz audience have clearly never seen one before whereas anyone who has been to an open mic night in the last 10 years can hardly have avoided the ‘box drum’, however much they may have wished to. But this just goes to demonstrate how this group cross musical boundaries and have a potentially wide appeal. Warne’s cajon playing is, by the way, wonderfully musical, the whole evening serving as something of a masterclass on hand-held percussion.

There’s more than a hint of the fusion era about some of the group’s arrangements with plenty of syncopated passages inspired by traditional Indian music. Often played in unison on guitar, violin and bass, these are riffs that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a Mahavishu Orchestra album, but Unfurl have a wider dynamic range and compositions are equally likely to spiral into steadily evolving grooves and tender contemplative solos. This ebb and flow is at times reminiscent of Mike Gibbs’ compositional style, not least the way Jim Faulkner’s guitar adds texture as well as melodic interplay to the overall sound.

The Jazz Club’s current long-term base underneath The Cask pub is a good setting for the group, creating an intimate atmosphere for those sat directly in front of the stage area. A quick glance around reveals several people listening with eyes closed, allowing themselves to be carried on a musical journey. The current tradition at jazz performances of applauding solos is largely ignored over the evening, perhaps partly because the solos often feel to be integral parts of a composition, and also for fear of breaking the spell.

Congratulations to Scarborough Jazz for peppering their regular mainstream jazz programme with artists playing music that’s a little more off the beaten track. This was a great night of wonderfully eclectic music that would have appealed well beyond the traditional confines of ‘jazz’.

 

Check out Unfurl via their website.

Scarborough Jazz Club is open every Wednesday night at Sigma, under the Cask.  

Adrian Riley also presents ‘Jazz Thing’ on Radio Scarborough every Thursday at 11pm (repeated Mondays 11pm).