First time I have come across Jon Lloyd although he has been around for some time. Currently doing a Jazz Services tour and fortunately BJC is on the circuit. With John Law and Asaf Sirkis in the band I knew it would not be a wasted night. They only play with the best and are worth going to hear in their own right. Jon has had Mark Sanders and Paul Rogers in previous bands so I was expecting something at the end of free improvisation. The music was more European than American in style (if those categories hold any more) moving between floating ECM type soundscapes and groove based extended improvisations. The excellent guitar and bass guitarists gave the band a full and locked in sound. Jon's coruscating lines made the music float and soar. His use of space and dynamics was effective and he had a number of musical conversations with John Law. In fact the band was very much that, a band, rather than just a collection of great improvisors. His compositions, arrangements and use of sop and bass clarinet reminded me strongly of John Surman but this band also built intensity through complex groove structures and extended modal improvisations. Asaf, who also plays with the likes of Tim Garland and Gillad Atzmon, drove the music with his musical and imaginative drumming along with Rodney Teague, the bass guitarist who played riffs rather than walking. Rob Palmer on guitar used effects pedals well giving the music ambience and John Law huddled at the back of the stage using sequences and recordings, as well as playing piano, to further embellish the music with effects.
As with so much jazz it is so much better live. The CD for sale at the gig is well worth the £6 but is typical of many jazz CDs in that it was produced before the start of a tour to promote the music and does not reflect the way the live music has matured as the band members have developed it over a period of gigging. Jon really should do a live double album at the end of the tour. Fabulous stuff.
http://www.myspace.com/jonlloydmusic
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