The Golden Age of Steam, Tomato Brain

It's been a while. The Golden Age of Steam's Welcome to Bat Country (2012) was a record that I enjoyed and recommended at the time. Certainly James Allsopp remains one of the most significant bass clarinettists and reeds players on the planet and on …

Published: 25 Oct 2020. Updated: 3 years.

It's been a while. The Golden Age of Steam's Welcome to Bat Country (2012) was a record that I enjoyed and recommended at the time. Certainly James Allsopp remains one of the most significant bass clarinettists and reeds players on the planet and on that record built on the improviser's excellent trio album Raspberry Tongue released three-and-a-half years earlier. Tomato Brain is darker and the equal of what has gone before. A long, rewarding, listen, ''long'' meaning that you have to listen to all the record and not dip into one or two of its electronic-misted tracks. In other words stick around.

Made up of the dystopian suite 'Loftopus' plus the title track, 'Tomato Brain,' a droll Ivor Cutler fable radically transformed that acts as a thought provoking addendum. (The late John Cumming was an appreciator of Cutler and immediately hearing it makes me think of John. His passing was a big loss this year for the pan-continental European jazz scene because he was one of its greatest leaders.)

Tomato Brain is out on 4 December. I have added it to my albums of the year list to be published on 31 December. Wonderfully mixed by Alex Bonney full personnel can be found on the album's bandcamp page. SG

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Classic sounds: Bidin' My Time

The clocks may have gone back. From even further back these sparkling treatments of the 1930s Gershwins Girl Crazy song 'Bidin' My Time' nevertheless are wrapped more in a classic sense of irresistible jazz timelessness.

Published: 25 Oct 2020. Updated: 3 years.

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The clocks may have gone back. From even further back these sparkling treatments of the 1930s Gershwins Girl Crazy song 'Bidin' My Time' nevertheless are wrapped more in a classic sense of irresistible jazz timelessness.