REVIEW:

Gareth Lockrane

It’s difficult to light fires with a flute. With its soft tenuous sound it does not rip through the air waves like other wind and brass instruments and is thus less obviously suited to the muscular jazz environment. This is no doubt why it is usually just an extra in the armoury of many saxophonists, the ideal vehicle for the occasional ballad. Gareth Lochrane is thus unique in the jazz world as flute is his only instrument. Yet he has gained a considerable reputation in a world that is very much dominated by altogether more forceful sounds. Lochrane has gained his standing with nothing more than the sound of air across an open hole in two specific ways. Firstly his gig bag contains the whole range of flutes from bass through to piccolo giving his playing a great range and tonal palette. More importantly he plays with the technical virtuosity, intensity and imagination that has made him undoubtedly the best straight-up jazz flautist in the country.

At the Spin Jazz Club Lochrane was playing with the added advantage of a trio who were acutely sensitive to the dynamics of his instrument and an unusually well controlled sound balance. Drummer Nick Smalley and keyboard player Ross Stanley along with the ever-sensitive Raf Mizraki on bass were wonderfully aware of the dynamics of the flute, altering the intensity of their playing to fit whichever instrument Lochrane picked up from the wistfully low tones of the bass, the greater intensity of the alto through to the sharper edge and volume of the standard concert flute. It was nevertheless the standard of Lochrane’s playing that carried the evening. From the opening bars of the melody on Strayhorn’s fast-moving Conception the precision and articulation of his playing was evident. As the evening progressed the imagination and fluidity of his soloing made an even deeper mark. The effortless quality of his phrasing produces music that has the feeling of a fast-flowing river cascading over rocks, through unexpected pools and round sudden bends. This was a very welcome demonstration of exquisite jazz played with intensity and drive but without the often overpowering attack and volume.

© Paul Medley