UK indie jazz label Gondwana have a number one jazz and blues hitmaker album on their hands as their artist tenor saxophonist and flautist Chip Wickham tops the new UK jazz and blues chart just announced. Cloud 10 comes in at no.1 with US sax star Joshua Redman and his Moodswing band on LongGone at no. 2.
Back in July the title track of Cloud 10 was in our track of the day Saturday morning listening spot.
Landing in a flowing spiritual-jazz space somewhere as if time-travelling to a never to be found again Pharoah Sanders or Yusef Lateef oasis where a rare atmosphere of much sought-after serenity lives that's where you'll find the quintessential Wickham approach.
Cloud 10 was recorded at the Estudio Brazil in Madrid and other features of the sound include the throb of the bass from Simon Houghton, known as Sneaky, who flavours the vamp on the title track before Wickham comes in on tenor saxophone. Vibes are played by Spanish scenester Ton Risco and fill space imaginatively. Risco sounds as much like Gary Burton as he does Bobby Hutcherson, first thought, in this passage. New GoGo Penguin drummer the much admired Jon Scott hangs the beat back to let it fertilise the groove while Nottingham-born pianist Phil Wilkinson, a former student of Darius Brubeck, is suitably decorative in context given some florid touches. The success of these two releases in this week's chart brings to an end a sustained period when blues acts in the weekly chart outsold their jazz counterparts. Chip Wickham photo: Jazz FM
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