REVIEW:

Trevor Warren’s Disassembler

Calling this sextet Disassembler is an ironic reversal of reality. On the human side guitarist Trevor Warren has assembled a group from some of the finest players in the country. On the musical side his carefully built compositions involve a great deal of assembling of melody and riff with careful matching of solos to styles to make the best of both the music and the musicians. But then Trevor Warren has an ironic sense of humour. The title track of his latest album Fear is the Mother of Violence, a dark angular piece strongly reminiscent of the wilder sections in Mingus’s Black Saint and the Sinner Lady was described as ‘a light piece’ and Waterfall contained moments when the flow of music deliberately stuttered and died. On the other hand Jackson Pollock had intriguing cross rhythms and a deliberately pared down solo from Mark Lockheart to musically reflect Pollock’s meshes of dribbled paint.

Despite keeping away from recognisably ‘jazzy’ tunes Warren’s compositions have remarkable drive and groove helped by Winston Clifford on drums and Dudley Philips on bass, two players who instantly inject dimension and colour. Warren’s own guitar playing mixes an equal feeling for the beat with quirky almost disembodied solo lines that contrast wonderfully with the more energetic and hard hitting playing from the horn section. Dave Priseman has immaculate phrasing and a forceful tone on trumpet while Mark Lockheart displayed his characteristic mix of lyricism and bold virtuosity. Annie Whitehead, one of the most experienced trombone players around, has the maturity to mix simplicity into more intricate passages to heighten the groove. All of which made the evening a riot of jazz funk with rich undertones from the many other areas of music Warren has worked in. Once again the Spin management should be applauded for giving Oxford a chance to hear a band that manages to defy easy categorisation.

© Paul Medley