New this week on Charlie Wood's Perdido from guitarist Chris Allard with pianist John Turville, trumpeter Robbie Robson, double bassist Oli Hayhurst and drummer Will Glaser. A studio affair recorded last year most of the tunes are Allard originals and there is a bonus version of Ellington and Strayhorn classic 'Isfahan' among the tracks we checked out earlier - an elegant choice and arranged in a gently swinging fashion. One of the tracks, the opener, is a new arrangement of Allard's 'Ocean Mirage'.
Listen to the Secret Sessions Hoop version of 'Ocean Mirage' to whet your appetite.
And cast your minds back to London based guitarist Allard's treatment of luminous Enrico Pieranunzi composition 'Fellini's Waltz' on his 2022 album Tortugas, Allard on that occasion along with pianist Ross Stanley. That release had Cole Porter, Allard originals, Peter Bernstein, Ann Ronell, Walt Weiskopf and Antônio Carlos Jobim numbers which gave a clear picture of Allard's repertory thinking at the time. The title track of Melodic Collective right at the end sketches in a lot of interplay between guitar and horns in the head and then opens up a good deal of space. Walthamstow scenester the Shearing loving John Turville plays a very John Taylor-like role while Robson is Kenny Wheeler-like ostensibly. On 'Study in Thirds' Allard is quite Peter Bernstein-like but his writing style pivots sometimes towards an American pastoral approach favoured by Pat Metheny. If you are a fan of Tom Ollendorff you will probably feel at home with the Allard sound. A landscape kind of record rather than some sort of ''jack the dripper'' abstract expressionist fantasia. Chris Allard: photo: Hayley Madden above. The main picture top is a detail from the sleeve of the Perdido release out on Friday
Tags: Reviews