Tag Archives: PRAH Recordings

On Record – Group Listening: Walks (PRAH Recordings)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Clarinettist Stephen Black and pianist Paul Jones are back for a third album as Group Listening, but with a twist. Whereas the first two albums, Selected Works Vols. 1 and 2, were cover-based, Walks is an album of original compositions.

These include Frogs, inspired by an experience Jones had on holiday in Madeira, where a group of frogs were collected under a bridge, their croaks amplified and echoed in a chorus caught in a field recording.

Walks is also inspired by Robert Walser’s novella The Walk, and its recognition of the space achieved when out in the great wide open under your own steam.

What’s the music like?

Group Listening are really on to something here, the clarinet and piano base acting as a springboard for some imaginative compositions and sonic backdrops.

Field recordings continue to play a big part in their work, and the introductory 5 1°29 09.6 N 3°12 30.6 W sets the music in perspective with footsteps and birdsong, the Walks made real as though we are going somewhere outside. The steady pace is reflected also in New Brighton, where softly voiced thoughts unwind over an easy four to the floor beat, giving a sense of awakening.

Frogs is the standout composition, framed by the remarkable field recording but responding with a tender clarinet duet in play. Hills End is dubby but full of bloom, while Grey Swans, the longest composition on the album, has murmuring clarinets offset by a regular chime from higher piano. Old Reeds has a triple time lilt, hinting at a very different sort of dance.

To close, Pavane IX opens out into the airy Denge, with a deep electric piano sound suggesting the walk has reached a large body of water.

Does it all work?

It does. There is an appealing freshness about this music, made instinctively but realised with sensitivity in the editing too.

Is it recommended?

Yes indeed. Walks is a really enjoyable complement to the first two Selected Listening albums, but it suggests even more creative times lie ahead – and that Group Listening are only scratching the surface of what they might achieve in the future. Definitely a pair to keep an eye on.

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Published post no.2,185 – Tuesday 21 May 2024

On Record – Group Listening: Clarinet & Piano: Selected Works, Vol. 2 (PRAH Recordings)

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group-listening

reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

The first Group Listening album was such a success that clarinettist Stephen Black and pianist Paul Jones have returned for a second instalment. The project celebrates their favourite music – a wide range of electronica, Krautrock and dance-infused classics – by rearranging it for clarinet and piano, with a few electronic twists on the side.

In the course of their work the pair can bring new life to tracks we all thought we knew.

What’s the music like?

Rather special. Both performers play with a great deal of expression, really bringing the music to life and highlighting parts we hadn’t reckoned with before. They are clever with their arrangements, too, giving the melodic lead to the piano on occasion. Robbie Basho’s Blue Crystal Fire is one such example, where Black explores the throaty lower end of the clarinet register while Jones’ piano spins out the tune.

Much of the music is bright and positive, and the first track – a spacious arrangement of Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s Sunset Village – sets the mood perfectly. The appearance of the theme to the 1970s kids tv show Camberwick Green is a humourous shock, joyfully played by both performers, before we hear a radical reworking of Laraaji’s All Of A Sudden. This is where a few risks can go a long way, in this case with the help of a one-touch keyboard rhythm effect.

The Group Listening cover of Malcolm Neon’s Y Cwsg is playful, while Hollywood Dream Trip – originally by Syrinx – is expansive. The original work Five Hundred Miles is unexpectedly poignant, eavesdropping on phone conversations and messages while the instruments work softly voiced conversations of their own. The steady ticking of Seeland has a similar, meditative effect.

Does it all work?

It does – like looking at familiar pictures from unexpected angles and discovering more about them. What really comes across is the love these two musicians have for the music they have arranged and played.

Is it recommended?

Yes. This set of selected works is a blend of cover and remix, throwing new light on music that is revealed to have more dimensions with every listen. A subtly joyous experience.

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