New album by Pete Hurt Orchestra - "the British Gil Evans"

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  • Ian Thumwood
    Full Member
    • Dec 2010
    • 4225

    New album by Pete Hurt Orchestra - "the British Gil Evans"

    SA

    I was staggered to see that there is a new CD out by Pete Hurt, one of the finest jazz arrangers in this country. Back in the 1980s he produced a terrific album called "Lost for words" which was instrumental in making me aware that British jazz could be as good and original as anything produced in the States as well as directing me towards classical composers like Oliver Messaien who he listed as an influence. It was one of the first British jazz records I bought . This was a terrific disc, rich and sonorous and good enough for Humphrey Lyttelton to enthuse about it enough to give it a lot of air play at the time. Discovering jazz in the mid 80's was a fantastic time and "Lost for Words" seemed to be one of those records that pushed doors open for me at a time when I was discovering Gil Evans. As a teenager in those days, the music on this LP really did seem like Pete Hurt was the British Gil Evans. I think that it is also true to say that had I not discovered Bill Evans, Gil Evans and Pete Hurt, I would never have been inclined to explore classic music. "Lost for Words" looms large in my recollections of plunging in to the realms of jazz as a teenager. He is certainly part of a group of composers such as Mike Westbrook, Mike Gibbs, Kenny Wheeler and Neil Ardley who represent the pinnacle of what British jazz orchestras could achieve and maybe a more "serious" alternative to Loose Tubes - another band I was ij thrall of.

    I am really glad that there is a follow up disc and the samples seem to suggest no lack of originality. Needless to say I have snapped this up. There are a few soloists I am aware of such as Henry Lowther (he featured on the original) as well as pianist Kate Williams who you mentioned on another post. A lot of the pther names are totally new to me, It is not difficult to become despondent about the contemporary British scene which I find often over-rated, derivative and lacking in much substance. The current scene seems to benefit was more technically gifted players but I think the results are , as a whole, pretty weak. I find it really easy to relate back to the 1980s as a halcyon era in British jazz with the likes of Kenny Wheeler, John Surman and John Taylor all at their prime and representing the very best in the contemporary scene. By contrast, bands like Loose Tubes offered a wonderfully original contrast with another generation of musicians under the stewardship of Gary Crosby promising a golden era of new jazz. In amongst these musicians, I felt at the time Pete Hurt was someone whose music gave jazz a real identity which did not borrow too heavily of American jazz yet was producing the kind of arrangements which immediately stood out with the quality of the writing. Of all the musicians who emerged in that generation , Pete Hurt seemed to spearhead a renaissance in British big band writing which also saw the likes of Dick Walters and Steve Gray forging something truly wonderful with big band writing. For me, Hurt's writing does resemble the rich textural writing of Kenny Wheeler yet it is not given over to the melancholy, nostalgic feel of the trumpeter's efforts and seems to have a more dissonant edge to it.

    I will let you know what this record is like. The samples sound terrific and easily identifiable as being the work of this musician. It is strange that it has taken about 33 years for a follow up disc especially when the quality is so high. Too often British jazz seems to concentrate on the gimmicky products of university students, often lumbered with a ridiculous name and , in the case of someone like Neil Cowley, where their refusal to be recognised as jazz with a degree of pride. It is perverse that someone like Pete Hurt is so overlooked and it is no surprise that the reviews available on line all seem to be pretty ecstatic about this disc. I am really chuffed that, at last, there is a new disc of his to look forward to.

    If Pete Hurt is back on the scene with a new jazz orchestra it would be good for it to feature on "Jazz Now." Would Radio 3 consider commissioning more music for this band?
  • Serial_Apologist
    Full Member
    • Dec 2010
    • 37814

    #2
    Ian
    I got this album when attending one of the Way Out West gigs at the Polish Centre in Chiswick a couple of weeks ago. It just happened to be on the entrance desk, long with maybe 20 other CDs by Kate Williams and other members of the WOW collective, of which Pete is a member, though he was not at that particular gig. In my opinion we also shouldn't forget Pete Saberton, one of the most original pianists this country has produced, who also worked with Kenny Wheeler (on that album you mention) Norma Winstone, Don Rendell and John taylor (in a duo), and as well did some highly original composition work including big band arrangements, and who Pete Hurt said had a big influence on himself. Pete S died a few years ago; I attended the wake, at which Pete Hurt gave a very moving tribute. I once told Pete HurtI considered him "our" Wayne Shorter, for his playing at least. Recently, knowing that I retain hundreds of cassette broadcasts from the 1980s and 1990s, he put me in touch with the trumpeter Nick Smart, who is writing a biography of Kenny Wheeler, and happens to be Head of the Jazz Course at the Royal Academy of Music in Marylebone Road, just a few metres from Madame Tussauds, which is where my mother qualified to be a professional musician in 1927. The great composer Herbert Howells was on the adjudicating panel. What small worlds we find ourselves in!

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    • Rcartes
      Full Member
      • Feb 2011
      • 194

      #3
      Interesting: Pete Hurt is a name I'm certainly familiar with, but I haven't come across Lost for Words, and I'll certainly look out for it when I'm next at WOW.

      In a similar vein, I was a fan of the New Jazz Orchestra, particularly after Neil Ardley, who was also influenced by Gil Evans, took over the arranger's chair. Some excellent soloists, including Ian Carr, Harry Beckett and Dave Gelly; the drummer was the fine Jon Hiseman, before he was lost to the wilderness of rock. I particularly like their first album, Western Reunion, which is well worth digging out.
      Last edited by Rcartes; 20-10-16, 15:18. Reason: Adding about Jon Hiseman

      Comment

      • Ian Thumwood
        Full Member
        • Dec 2010
        • 4225

        #4
        S.A

        The Peter Hurt record arrived through the door and I am already a few tracks in on the initial spin. For a reed player, Hurt's writing for brass is hugely impressive. I am intrigued to hear how it measures up with his earlier "Lost for words" which is something of a British jazz classic. (Overdue for release on CD.)

        On this initial play-through the music retains the richness of his earlier record with Henry Lowther being a distinctive voice in the ensembles. I like what I have heard and it does seem to reinforce my perception that the strongest hand in British jazz often seems to be big band writing whether it be from the 1950s through to the era that brought the likes of Mike Gibbs, Mike Westbrook and Kenny Wheeler to the fore in the idiom amongst a host of others. If British jazz does have a distinct identity, for me it is with larger ensembles. Sometimes the music on "A new start" recalls American jazz on tracks like "Blues in the dark" yet I don't think it ever really looses it's identity as jazz coming from the UK. The other thing I like about this disc is that it totally avoids any attempt at being modish and Peter Hurt is true to his own personal identity.

        I suppose the music seems to have the richness of Kenny Wheeler's writing with ensembles also being bottomed out by a tuba. The soloists include Martin Hathaway, Kate Williams and Henry Lowther but there are a host of names totally unfamiliar to me in this line up. SA favourite Tori Freestone is featured on soprano on the closing track.

        Wondered what you made of this disc, SA? For me, this is the kind of staff that impresses me and this latest record recalls another under-rated jazz composer, Alan Ferber, who shares Hurt's affection for sonorous and rewarding arranging. This is the best British jazz record I have heard for a while, on the first listen.

        Comment

        • Ian Thumwood
          Full Member
          • Dec 2010
          • 4225

          #5
          SA

          Having listening to the Peter Hurt record for the best part of two weeks I think this is one of the best British jazz records I have heard for years. The writing is staggeringly original and even the blues and the bossa number sound totally unlike how any other composer would treat these idioms. There is one section on the writing where the horn section play unaccompanied and it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. I love this kind of intelligent jazz and you can still sense Hurt's admiration for Olivier Messaien in the depth of orchestration.

          I love big bands / jazz orchestras and this record is full of musical ideas. The writing for the brass is staggering and I think hurt's ear for melody owes a lot to Kenny Wheeler albeit the melancholia of the trumpet player's style is absent and replaced by a tart richness. There have been some brilliant records released this year and, not withstanding the fact that I have waited over thirty years for a follow up to his classic "Lost for words", this is easily one of the very best records released in 2016. I have hardly listened to anything else for the last few weeks. Peter Hurt is a genius.

          I wonder what you made of it?

          Comment

          • Serial_Apologist
            Full Member
            • Dec 2010
            • 37814

            #6
            Originally posted by Ian Thumwood View Post
            SA

            Having listening to the Peter Hurt record for the best part of two weeks I think this is one of the best British jazz records I have heard for years. The writing is staggeringly original and even the blues and the bossa number sound totally unlike how any other composer would treat these idioms. There is one section on the writing where the horn section play unaccompanied and it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. I love this kind of intelligent jazz and you can still sense Hurt's admiration for Olivier Messaien in the depth of orchestration.

            I love big bands / jazz orchestras and this record is full of musical ideas. The writing for the brass is staggering and I think hurt's ear for melody owes a lot to Kenny Wheeler albeit the melancholia of the trumpet player's style is absent and replaced by a tart richness. There have been some brilliant records released this year and, not withstanding the fact that I have waited over thirty years for a follow up to his classic "Lost for words", this is easily one of the very best records released in 2016. I have hardly listened to anything else for the last few weeks. Peter Hurt is a genius.

            I wonder what you made of it?
            I still haven't yet listened to it, but I take your word for it, Ian! I'm presently going chronologically through all my British jazz recordings, starting from 1933, having currently reached the year 1977. Call it obsessional and you'd be right, but this is typical of the way I listen these days, which probably has something to do with reaching 71 and with a heart attack 3 years gone realising I may not have forever to enjoy the big collection I've built up. There's a a load of 20th century classical stuff just as big!

            Comment

            • Serial_Apologist
              Full Member
              • Dec 2010
              • 37814

              #7
              I thought people on here - Ian especially - might be interested in this interview with Pete Hurt by Martin Speake - one of a series he did some years back - Peter Saberton's another, and he's been gone some years now. Pete Hurt's a shy kind of fellow - a thoroughly nice bloke, but not one assumes from his air of vagueness here very used to talking about either himself or his music! His comments on playing influences certainly bear out what I've always thought, that Pete is heavily influenced by 1960s Wayne Shorter - as well as Ian's thoughts on differences between Pete's compositional idiom and Kenny Wheeler's: we disagreed, but Ian was clearly nearer the mark than I was! Here's the transcript - the others can be found just by omitting from the link below following the slash. There's some nice Speake recorded near the start:

              Comment

              • Serial_Apologist
                Full Member
                • Dec 2010
                • 37814

                #8
                At last I've listened to A New Start, and in strongly recommending it to regulars I can only concur with everything about the album that Ian has written. Tonight I'm off to one of Way Out West's presentations, at the Polish Cafe (where they sell good beer!) in Hammersmith, transport permitting. Always a welcoming atmosphere, and usually well attended, having a much bigger capacity than the revamped Bull's Head. As part of the London Jazz Festival, this is billed as a centenary tribute to Monk, and has many of those on the disc in the line-up: Henry Lowther, Pete Hurt, Chris Biscoe, Tim Whitehead (a great favourite of Calum's), trombonist Malcolm Earl-Smith, Kate Williams, vocalist Nette Williams, Dave Jones on bass, and Gary Willcox drums. Pretty good for a tenner on the door, I reckon!

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