Renegade
Dedicated To Veronica
Esmond Selwyn – Guitar
Paul Sawtell – Keyboards
Bill Coleman – Bass
Tony Richards – Drums
Recorded at Wrexham Jazz Club November 2002.
Recording engineer Marc Joy, Ferndale Studio.
CD1
1 Fine And Dandy - Paul James, Kay Swift. - 8.24
2 All The Things You Are - Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein. - 6.18
3 Blue Monk - T.Monk. - 10.34
4 Cantaloupe Island - Herbie Hancock. - 15.07
5 Dancing Cheek To Cheek - Irving Berlin. 6.46
6 China Boy - Phil Boutelije, Dick Winfree. - 9.23
CD2
1 All Blues – Miles Davis. - 8.20
2 Just One Of Those Things - Cole Porter. - 11.10
3 Nancy With The Laughing Face – Jimmy van Heusen, Phil Silvers. -11.51
4 Summertime - Gershwin. - 12.05
5 Yardbird Suite - Charlie Parker -11.40
This is as lively a set of guitar jazz as I've heard in a long time and being
played in a manner steeped in the DNA ofsuch luminaries as Tal Farlow, Barney
Kessell , Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, not forgetting Wes Montgomery, it is
pleasingly retro without being slavishly deferential. This is not a homage but
rather, a joyful celebration ofbop guitar conventions before the seismic shift
initiated by Jimmy Hendrix moved the artistic pendulum away from melodic invention
towards the expressive extremities of distortion and feedback that is found in the
work of most post-modern guitarists. In his enthusiastic and informative sleeve
note Digby Fairweather tells us that Esmond and his colleagues are first call British
session men, highly regarded in the trade but not well known to the generalpublic:
if justice is done and this fine double CD set gets the exposure and distribution it
deserves the jazz buying public will be well served indeed.
As befits his stylistic ambitions Selwyn offers a programme of familiar jazz standards
and songbook ballads, all explored intelligently at some length and taken at a fair
lick astutely avoiding the doldrums that can sometimes afflict the jam session format.
The overall feel is buoyant and euphoric with headlong swing and melodic invention being
the hallmark of both frontline instrumental voices. The presence of a small studio or club
audience conveys a live concert ambience that enhances the spontaneity of the session
without tempting the musicians to easy solutions and though Sawtell is guilty of one`shave
and a haircut` banality his playing like that of his leader seamlesslyswitches between speedy
linearity and climactic chordal passages with effortless and refreshingly creative élan and
vivacity. In their hands old warhorses like `Fine and Dandy`, `China Boy` and `Summertime`
are revitalised with fresh licks whilst the `Blue Monk` and `Cantaloupe Island` are retro–fitted
with new vamps and even the usually languid `All Blues` is shoved into topgear.
If Esmond Selwyn is the `Renegade` of the title it must be because he refuses to be intimidated
by critical opinion that holds that thereplication of past styles, however freshly minted they
sound, is somehow reactionary and perhaps, like Wynton Marsalis, Nicholas Peyton and ScottHamilton,
he is proud to be a guardian of a living tradition and keeper of theflame. If so, more power to him.
Reviewed by EuanDixon June 2013http://jazzviewscdreviews.weebly.com/
"Textbook examples of how to play blues-based music on what Eps called the
'lap-piano' without falling into the thoughtless and profligate excesses of
today's so-called guitar"; so Digby Fairweather in his liner note, and how
we severally nod or bridle at "thoughtless" and "so-called". There is a school
of thought that does, indeed, only welcome in the guitar if it promises to
behave, and to behave pianistically, or resign itself to backroom duties,
like Freddie Green's. Pace the splendid Fairweather, who has refined this
kind of schoolmasterly prose down the years, the excitement of Esmond Selwyn's
record is precisely the hint that it might suddenly break loose and chase
down the profligate. This, after all, is a jazz guy who named one album Axe
and calls this one Renegade (and puts a weathered Native American chief on the front).
Selwyn's playing is more Joe Pass than George Van Eps, though there an Eps-ome
quality to the chords on Blue Monk. He tells stories which like all great
fiction stick to the conventions of story-telling in full knowledge that the
line between creativity and repetition is very narrow. Everything here is
invested with urgency, commitment and rigorous technical control, but always
with the sense that Selwyn might have heard Electric Ladyland and nursed ambitions.
The group's terrific. The interplay on Cantaloupe Island makes it one of the best
versions of the Hancock tune I've heard and they positively clatter through
Yardbird Suite. These are mostly extended performances as the durations will
suggest. Nancy is usually done as a posy of cameo, but gets nearly 12 minutes
of searching chordal and melodic inspection. Sometimes the guitar overtones
are a little tooo brassy and acidic but that's partly where the sense of danger
lies. Look into that old guy's face on the cover. He may be posing quietly for
the camera but he has a tomahawk under his robe. Or an axe. That's what this
fine music sounds like, still on the reservation but . . .
Brian Morton Jazz Journal June 2013
Esmond Selwyn, considered by many to be among the top jazz guitar players
in the UK, has released a new quartet CD Called Renegade. The CD includes
Esmond on guitar, Paul Sawtell on keyboards, Bill Coleman on bass and Tony
Richards on drums. The album is a two CD live recording of jazz standards.
Esmond and his quartet offer a fresh approach to these classics. Personally,
I always love listening to jazz musicians who add their personal artistic
interpretation to standards, making them seem like their own . Esmond does
this well on Renegade. The sound quality is excellent. I would have never
known that it was a live recording except for the applause in the background.
One advantage of recording live is that musicians often take more chances and
'stretch' out over the form of each song. This typically leads to longer and
more developed solos and a bit more risk-taking by the soloist. When the band
is as good as this one, it is very exciting to hear them play live. From the
very beginning of the CD I was impressed with the musicality and skill of all
the musicians. They all listen to one another and complement each other beautifully.
This was my first introduction to Esmond Selwyn's music and I will now be a life
long fan. Esmond's guitar playing showcases his impeccable technique and virtuosity.
Esmond is undoubtedly a master of his instrument. Renegade is an amazing, high-energy,
traditional jazz recording.
Dr Brandon Bernstein Just Jazz Guitars, February 2013.
A recent review of this double live CD from one of the UK's most respected
guitarists praises Esmond Selwyn's clean picking, abundance of
ideas, and a tone to die for from his ES 175 with Charlie Christian
pickup, and his website <http://www.esmondselwyn.com/Esmond_Selwyn/>
contains fulsome tributes from (among many others) George Coleman (you
sound great, boy!) and Frank Sinatra's guitarist Tony Mottola (these
days my pleasure is listening to great players like yourself), yet
Renegade's sleeve-note writer, Digby Fairweather, is somewhat
rueful about Selwyn's undersung status in the jazz pantheon, quoting the
late alto player Bruce Turner to illustrate his point: "There is no route
to greatness in British jazz". There is, however, a simple explanation for
this apparent neglect: he plays an instrument that , arguably more than
any other in jazz, has undergone a sea-change in the technology that
produces the sounds available to it, and as a consequence, the technique
of its practitioners, since the rise of rock music in the late 1960s.
Selwyn;s models (listed by Fairweather as Tal Farlow, George Van Eps and
Joe Pass) are simply not those commonly cited by most contemporary
guitarists, raised on the music of Carlos Santana, Lowell George, Jimi
Hendrix and post-rock-era jazz guitarists such as Bill Frisell, John
Scofield, Mike Stern et al. Nevertheless, listening to Selwyn barrelling
his way through seven exhilarating choruses of this album's opening track,
‘Fine and Dandy' does induce a kind of nostalgia for the days of
clean, fleet solo runs, especially when, as here, the guitarist in
question is as well versed in what Fairweather calls "the sunny major-key
vocabulary of swing and its predecessors" as in the advanced harmonic
lines and devices that distinguished bebop. Throughout a nicely balanced
set that includes accommodating standards (All the Things You Are,
Just One of Those Thingsetc.) as well as jazz classics and bop
staples (Blue Monk, All Blues, Yardbird Suite),
Selwyn breezes confidently through a series of joyous, exuberant but
consistently musicianly solos, competently shadowed by pianist Paul
Sawtell, bassist Bill Coleman and drummer Tony Richards,
to the audible satisfaction of an enthusiastic audience. Those wishing to
hear Selwyn in an organ-trio setting, moreover, might like to investigate
another Slam CD, The Middle Half, on which Selwyn plays alongside
organist John-Paul Gard and drummer Robin Jones. Great
playing like this should never really go out of fashion.
Chris Parker
ESMOND SELWYN With PAUL SAWTELL/BILL COLEMAN/TONY RICHARDS - Renegade
[2 CD set] (Slam 291; UK) Featuring Esmond Selwyn on guitar, Paul
Sawtell on keyboards, Bill Coleman on bass and Tony Richards on
drums. This is more of a straight ahead jazz session than I usually
review but no less creative. This is Esmond Sylwyn's fourth date for
the Slam label and the second one with his quartet. Most of the songs
here are standards. I listened to a wealth of more mainstream jazz in
the seventies when I first got into jazz and was studying its long
history. After a few decades of ignoring it, I've been again checking
out a variety of of more inside musicians and sessions. Considering
that I am not familiar with any of the members of this quartet, I
must admit that they are pretty amazing. Right from the gitgo on
"Fine and Dandy" the quartet is off and swinging furious with smoking
solos from all four members of this great quartet. Considering what
little recognition Mr. Selwyn has garnered here, I an astonished by
each of his solos on this long two disc set. He is just incredible.
Both he and Mr. Sawtell on piano are gifted musicians and sound
wonderful throughout, sometimes trading lines with immense craft and
passion. There are a few standouts here like "Blue Monk" (by
Thelonius Monk), Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island" and Miles
Davis' "All Blues". Nothing like an unknown legend to get those
blindfold test fans guessing. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music
Gallery
Nell´area mainstream di solito i musicisti europei che non vanno negli
USA hanno problemi a farsi conoscere fuori dai confini nazionali. È un
fenomeno diffuso, come dimostra questo disco del chitarrista inglese Esmond Selwin.
La sua è una tecnica sopraffina che deriva dai grandi della chitarra
come Tal Farlow o Joe Pass, con un tocco di personalità che lo rende
riconoscibile per il pubblico più smaliziato. L´interpretazione di
standard famosi è fatta con inventiva, passando per molti classici che
hanno caratterizzato un determinato periodo. Ad esempio dal primo CD
Blue Monk dell´omonimo pianista, Cantaloupe Island di
Herbie Hancock ed un classico del dixieland quale China Boy.
Il quartetto di Selwin si dà da fare con un bel lavoro sulle armonie di
base e riesce a fare proprii questi standard, tutti con le basi
nell´area mainstream, ma in realtà molto diversi l´uno dall´altro. Eppur
funziona, verrebbe da dire, perchè la fantasia e la tecnica si uniscono
e si amalgano e quel che spunta è un lavoro di grande omogeneità che
merita di uscire dai confini nazionali.
Sono tutte registrazioni dal vivo. Il trio di accompagnamento è
costituito da Paul Sawtell al piano, Bill Coleman al contrabbasso e Tony
Richards alla batteria, tutti musicisti di solito usi ad
accompagnare le
star americane quando sono in tour in Europa o in UK. Una ritmica in cui il concetto di swing è scontato e che lo fa alla grande!
Vittorio Lo Conte http://www.musiczoom.it/?p=11992
TRANSLATION
In mainstream jazz, European artists who choose not to move to the US struggle to become widely known outside of the countries where they operate. This is the case for the album of English guitarist Esmond Selwyn. Esmond's exquisite technique draws from guitar greats such as Tal Farlow Usually and Joe Pass, and adds a personality which creates a sound that is recognisable to the discerning listener.
Popular standards are here re-interpreted creatively, spanning many classics which marked different eras. Some remarkable examples are Thelonious Monk's Blue Monk, Hancock's Cantaloupe Island or the Dixieland classic China Boy.
Selwyn's quartet works hard to revise the basic harmonies, and give the tunes an identity of their own, all within mainstream jazz (do they mean "straight ahead"?), but each track very different from one another.
Yet, one could say, it works: as inspiration and technique merge together, what comes forth is a work of great consistency, which deserves to be recognised outside of its national barriers. All recordings were made live. The accompanying trio is composed of Paul Sawtell on piano, Bill Coleman on double bass, and Tony Richards on drums, all of them used to tour Europe in the UK with the greatest American stars. For such a rhythm section, the concept of swing is taken for granted, and is splendidly delivered!
Vittorio Lo Conte
