Alex Hutton is a British jazz pianist who, despite being well established on the London jazz scene, remains something of a hidden gem. Over the years he has worked with some of the UK’s leading jazz musicians, including Pete King and Jim Mullen. His solo recordings have attempted to move away from the traditional sound of the piano trio, looking to develop a fresh approach. Whilst pianists like Esbjörn Svensson and Vijay Iyer looked to modernise the sound of the trio, embracing the use of electronics, Hutton is not afraid to look back at history for inspiration. As a composer, he has an ear for both folk and classical music, both of which can be heard on his new album. The weight of history can also be felt in the titles of these new compositions, which were inspired by his daily dog walks in the ancient woodlands around Runnymede, near Windsor, where the Magna Carta – an important political document, which forms the bedrock of the British constitution – was signed eight hundred years ago.
Hutton’s trio has been in place for some time, and features classically trained bass player Yuri Goloubev, who boasts a quite unique sound, and versatile drummer Asaf Sirkis. The album also features spoken word by vocalist Neil Sparkes, which reinforces the importance of the underlying events, and brings the Suite to a dramatic conclusion.
The album opens with Old Yew, which references the ancient tree under which the Magna Carta is thought to have been signed. It features Goloubev’s rich-sounding, bowed bass and baroque flute, played by Liz Palmer, the two musicians twisting and turning like the branches of a tree over Hutton’s shimmering piano lines. King John’s Hunting Lodge is more restful, and was inspired by the lodge itself, which still stands in the village of Wraysbury. The sound here is more folk-influenced, with the trio joined by Liesbeth Allart on Cor Anglais. The mood changes on The Barons which opens with Hutton’s restless piano motif, signaling the political discontent between King John and the country’s powerful barons. This leads into June 15th 1215, the date on which the document was signed, which carries a more celebratory air, like a folk-music jig.
The two tunes that follow reference a different period of history. Gutenberg Press, and Gunpowder and Compass, refer to the three inventions Francis Bacon – writing in 1620 – described as changing history. There is a historical link too, to the British colonisation of the New World, and the influence of the Magna Carta on the American constitution. Both tunes are influenced by classical music, with the latter based on a theme composed by JS Bach. The sonorous tone of Goloubev’s bass can be heard to good effect when he takes a solo on Gutenberg Press, which is one of the album’s many highlights.
As the album draws to a close, the first two tracks are reprised. This might seem strange on an album just forty minutes in length, but there are subtle differences in these performances, and it reinforces the fact this album was composed as a suite of music. Old Yew (Reprise) brings us full circle, and leads into Thought Bear Heirs To Memory, in which Neil Sparks explains through his poetry how the concepts of life, liberty and property spread over the years, taking root like the old tree under which the original document was signed. It brings the suite to a stirring and powerful conclusion, a timely reminder of the events that took place eight hundred years ago.
Magna Carta Suite is clearly rooted in British history, and sounds unmistakably British too. One could perhaps trace the lineage of this British strand of jazz back to the great Stan Tracey, who composed his Under Milk Wood Suite back in 1965. But Hutton is fine composer in his own right, and his new album sounds unlike any other piano trio album you will hear this year.
Magna Carta Suite was released on the F-IRE label on June 15th, and will be showcased at the 606 Jazz Club in Chelsea on 13th August.
