We loved Tori Freestone’s debut as a leader, In The Chop House, describing it as “an absorbing collection” that marked the arrival of a significant new talent. She returns with El Barranco, accompanied by her fine trio, which consists of Dave Manington on bass and Tim Giles on drums.
The album is again dominated by improvised interplay between the musicians, primarily based on ideas and themes that were brought to the studio by Freestone and Manington, and often recorded in just one take. In less capable hands, this free-form approach could be seen as dense and impenetrable, but Freestone believes the band has created a language that, “rather than being intellectual or inaccessible, can be both contemporary and relevant.” And so it proves, as the language results in some stimulating conversation between the three musicians.
The album opens with the title track, composed by Freestone, which was inspired by the mountainous landscape of Tenerife. The light, airy sound suggests a warm, summer breeze, and there’s a fine solo by Manington, with Freestone playing gently beneath him to good effect. Only as the tune comes to a close does the playing become a little wilder, hinting at the steep, rugged rock formations shown on the album’s cover – which is based on a sketch by Freestone herself.
Press Gang is one of my favourites on the album. As with My Lagan Love on the Trio’s first album, it’s based on a traditional folk song, betraying some of Freestone’s influences. Unlike the Albion Band’s version, which sounds relatively upbeat, Freestone explores the darkness of the lyrics, playing with a dark foreboding, with echoes of later Coltrane.
Identity Protection sounds positively sprightly by comparison. It almost sounds Rollins-like at the beginning, but the tune quickly evolves, with Giles responding to every fresh idea thrown his way with ideas of his own.
All Or Nothing At All is the only standard on the album, and is given a new lease of life with a delightfully fresh arrangement by Freestone as she moves away from the original refrain to explore new directions, gradually bringing it back after a fine bass solo by Manington.
Challenger Deep is apparently based on a soul bass riff by Manington, but Freestone uses this as a riff on which to improvise, coaxing a wide range of emotions and sounds from her tenor saxophone, before handing back to the bass player to deliver a solo of his own. It’s relatively free in style, but never less than absorbing, and features some notable interplay between Freestone and Manington.
A Charmed Life is the only straight-ahead ballad on the album, and allows Freestone to demonstrate a more soulful style, while Cross Wired, despite the title, illustrates quite clearly that this is a Trio, not Freestone’s backing band, as the musicians have fun on this more playful tune. The album’s only misstep, I think, is the reprise of Press Gang, which features Freestone on vocal and violin. Whilst it makes clear the tune’s folk origins, it feels out of place with the rest of the album. But this is a minor complaint; El Barranco brims with passion and invention, and is one of my favourite albums of the year.
