Last Train to Hauteville
Martin Taylor's
Spirit of Django
Martin Taylor is one of those rare musicians who shine in many different combinations. One of the world's finest solo jazz guitarists, he has recently released a superb set of duets with himself (Double Standards) and his work is no less stellar on his new CD with the band Spirit of Django entitled Last Train to Hauteville.
Martin Taylor has a double connection with Django Reinhardt: his own Gypsy heritage as well as his eleven years playing guitar for Django's renowned former partner, violinist Stephane Grappelli. In fact, it was Stephane Grappelli who gave the band its name, having told Martin Taylor that they had captured "the spirit of Django" but in their own musical way. And an apt name it is!
To quote Dr. Martin Taylor, MBE on the intent of this album: "This music is all about feeling good. Imagine you're travelling through the South of France enjoying the sunshine, the big blue skies, the beautiful scenery ... you haven't got a care in the world." Rarely has an artist given so precise a summary of the mood of their work. This album combines some truly great playing with a wonderfully pervasive sense of fun. It also features ten new compositions by Martin Taylor in a style with a touch of retro but completely modern, demonstrating his wide grasp of musical styles.
The title track Last Train to Hauteville gets the proceedings off to a rollicking start with the sounds of the train starting off and picking up speed. There is something quintessentially French about the inclusion of accordion and clarinet, which gives this band a truly French ambience without attempting to duplicate the instrumentation of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. In addition to a rhythm guitar this group also sports drums (very capably played by Dr. Taylor's son James) and vocals by Alison Burns. The opening track is reminiscent of the 1930's with some astonishing solos and the delighted laughter of Ms. Burns.
Rue de Dinan is a nice combination of retro and modern idioms taken at a brisk tempo. The unison lines between accordion and vocalise lend an early 60's air, while the guitar soloing begins with a hint of Wes Montgomery before becoming pure Martin Taylor. The accordion solo is particularly fine.
Le Jardin Anglais begins with a mournful accordion line before resolving into its gently swinging tune. Some very nice interplay between accordion and guitar follows in this fine mellow song.
The title Double Scotch is bound to have connotations for a Scottish artist, but the song was obviously chosen for its smoothly flowing melody that lends itself to the easy swing of the album. One of the three songs not written by Martin Taylor, this one fits seamlessly into the set, with yet more great soloing. This time the clarinet gets a chance to shine, along with the accordion and guitar.
La Mer finally puts Alison Burns to work singing. The band gives her an infectious groove over which her warm and clear voice floats beautifully. I would guess that Martin Taylor (perhaps wisely) chose not to venture into writing lyrics and so we have the second of three not written by him. The playing is superb as usual, but it is Ms. Burns' voice that is the star here. We can only hope to hear much more of her singing.
Madame Haricot is yet another fun adventure into swing with a mildly retro feel. One nice feature of this one is the series of slides that Alan Barnes executes on his clarinet, making for an unforgettable solo. And yes, that is "haricot" as in the French for "bean" - I leave the connotations to your imagination.
Roberta is a fine outing for Dr. Taylor's guitar, lots of notes but always very melodic. Those mandolins in the background are Martin Taylor as well. Yet another wonderful song.
Mirette is another fine mellow guitar song. Once again vocalise in unison with the instruments gives those sections an early 60's feel while remaining clearly in the present. The gradual development of the guitar part is artistry at its finest. Any musician looking to learn how to pace a solo can learn from this entire song. The others also get their turns at soloing, with Alan Barnes on his soprano sax for this one, and this explains the length of this song, at just over 7 minutes.
La Javanaise starts with a more reflective guitar part that builds gradually, leading to a dialogue with the accordion. I hear something of the smoothness of George Benson in some of the guitar runs that manage to be blisteringly fast without upsetting the mellow mood of the song. Much of the guitar soloing has to be heard to be believed. This one should get guitarists practising.
Le Touch takes a brisker tempo but keeps the light-hearted vibe that makes this whole album such a pleasure. I have to hand it to all of the players that they can keep a consistent mood throughout the entire set without repeating themselves. Each song has a unique feel that seems to engender its own type of solo. These folks obviously love playing this music.
J'Attendrai brings back the vocals of Alison Burns. After an extended instrumental introduction her voice floats in to take command of the song. Her singing sounds effortless and her French is both clear and fluently casual. Again this song is well chosen to fit in with the rest of the album, with Dr. Taylor letting another composer tackle lyrics.
Monsieur Jacques is a somewhat quirky, fun tune that gives some inkling of Martin Taylor's great sense of humour. The story behind this one takes more space than I have here, and besides it is told in detail in the liner notes to the CD. Even without it, the virtuosic playing makes this track a standout, especially as so much of it is done in unison. This band is tight!
La Belle Dundee ends the album with a serenely beautiful tune that exudes its own quiet joy, and of course Martin Taylor does not say goodbye without some amazing guitar playing. Still, it is the ensemble playing that gives this song its feeling of valedictory warmth, even as it supports the flights of guitar. It sounds as if no one wants this session to end, and they could go on playing all night. And who knows, maybe they did!
We can all be grateful to Martin Taylor for re-forming Spirit of Django and producing such a wonderful album. I have listened to this one every day for a week now and I keep finding new things in these songs. At this point I have to wonder if there is any style that Martin Taylor cannot master. I doubt that we will find out.
Very highly recommended, if you could not already guess. You will have to search a long time to find an album that is this good with such fine musicianship.
You do not have to take my word for how wonderful this album is. Go to martintaylor.com where you can get one track from the CD for FREE. You can also order the CD from the same site.
Or, if you prefer you can order it from amazon.com:
Last Train to Hauteville (Dig)
or in Canada from amazon.ca:
Last Train to Hauteville