Jamie Taylor certainly has pedigree when it comes to the
world of jazz guitar. As principal lecturer at Leeds College of Music he has
been involved in the tuition of musicians who have gone on to become members of
Led Bib, Submotion Orchestra, Everything
Everything, Roller Trio and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra. Taylor himself
graduated from the college in 2000 with first class honours and went on to
complete postgraduate study. He has performed with a variety of UK musicians
including Adrian Ingram, Alan Barnes and Jim Mullen. Most recently he has been involved as a sideman in The Jamil Sheriff Big Band amongst
other divergent projects.
The “Outside Line” project is his latest venture and features
Matt Anderson on tenor saxophone, Garry Jackson on bass and Dave Walsh on drums. Essentially “Introducing
Outside Line” is broken down into two suites over six tracks, all composed by
Taylor himself, the “Someone New Suite” and “Three Colours: Blues Suite”. Before a note of music is heard, the album
cover artwork for this release strikes one as both industrial and organic in
nature. There is an almost “scientific” feel to the imagery, which compliments
the fresh production. The opening few
minutes of “Someone New” are a master class in restraint as percussion and
guitar roll gently around one another before the saxophone lines mournfully cut
through. Here we have music that would not be out of place on a well-known
Scandinavian jazz label with an evocatively austere cover. As the piece
progresses the specific personalities begin to emerge however. “Fugue (Hazy)”
has a gossamer thin childlike quality that is somehow baroque in its’ delivery,
whilst “The Optimist” is, unsurprisingly, more upbeat and “optimistic”. The
first three numbers that make up the “Someone New Suite” have a fragile charm,
which makes for melancholic listening in the way that well crafted jazz can.
The second suite
“Three Colours: Blues” is an altogether brisker affair, which brightens the
mood without losing any of its’ charisma. The music here is somehow now
reminiscent of an earlier decade of jazz, and whilst not as contemporaneous
sounding as the previous suite, is certainly jazz that is appropriate for the
twenty first century. Maybe these tunes are more indicative of the influence on
Taylor’s playing of guitarists such as Barney
Kessel, whilst “Canon for Cannon” wears its’ Cannonball Adderley influences proudly. After some filthy double bass
playing on the introduction “Dig Doug” is the perfect showcase for some soulful
soloing from all band members and highlights their ability, over the two
suites, to take on a variety of temperaments and paces. With teachers such as
Taylor educating our future jazz musicians, Leeds will continue to breed a
gloriously disparate cohort of musicians, that draw from any number of
influences to create an exhilarating future for music in the city and further
afield.
