The Golden Age Of Steam may well be the latest new young group to set the agenda on the London jazz scene. Reeds player James Allsopp teams up with keyboards player Kit Downes and drummer Tim Giles for the group’s debut album Raspberry Tongue. But, asks Daneil Spicer, are The Golden Age of Steam making highbrow art or is it just tongue-in-cheek entertainment?

“There is something with any kind of art that is pushing the boundaries, where if you’re doing it, it is incredibly serious but you also have to accept that there is something inherently ridiculous in it. If you’re someone who’s just walked into that context, it could seem like ‘what the fuck is this?’ But you have to be comfortable with that. You have to accept that there is humour in it. You have to be able to laugh at yourself.”

James Allsopp, best known as saxophonist with abrasive London quintet, Fraud, is speaking about the humorous undertow of his latest project, The Golden Age of Steam – a trio with fellow Fraudster, drummer Tim Giles and keyboardist Kit Downes, lately making noise with another trio, Troyka. It’s not just the band’s name – ironically conjuring England’s bygone Industrial glories – that comes with a mischievous twinkle.

This is an extract from Jazzwise Issue #142 – to read the full article click here to subscribe and receive a FREE copy of Denys Baptiste's 'Let Freedom Ring!'.