Edition Records (EDN 1005) | ****
Dave Stapleton (p), Neil Yates (t), Paula Gardiner (b), Elliot Bennett (d) and Lunar Sax Quartet. Rec. date not stated

Pianist and composer Dave Stapleton is demonstrating that living in Wales need not be a barrier to getting some exposure. Over just the past few years, he’s been earning a reputation as a composer as well as a pianist of fierce ambition. The only way is up with this newest release, subtitled ‘Music to an Imaginary Film’ and recorded for his co-owned, madly prolific new Cardiff-based record label Edition, that’s a breath of fresh air – compared to British indie jazz labels in particular – for its high standards of presentation in terms of sleeve design and concept. 

Stapleton’s previous two albums for the quintet were followed recently by an abstract piano duo with Matt Bourne earlier in the year on the label. This one’s very different again, a commission by the new music group Lunar Sax Quartet who appear alongside Stapleton’s regular rhythm section of bassist Paula Gardiner and drummer Elliot Bennett but with the key addition of upcoming trumpeter Neil Yates who solos magnificently throughout with a sound halfway between Miles and Arve Henrikson. Of course an imaginary film score is nothing new conceptually but Catching Sunlight doesn’t sound like your typical cinema backdrop or is particularly thematic as a whole.

Stapleton’s writing mostly revolves around propulsive piano vamps with nods to Gil/Miles circa Sketches of Spain through to smoky pulp noir jazz (particularly Jerry Goldsmith’s Chinatown in places) while the writing for sax quartet can evoke Stravinsky’s jazzier wind ensemble pieces through to Michael Nyman’s baroque minimalism. Cinematic imagery is also implied in the titles, based on a poem by Julie Tippetts. Contemporary ensemble recordings can sometimes get bogged down in textural detail only serving to obscure the whole. But not here; Stapleton creates a vivid canvas by setting contrasting layers of recurring rhythmic patterns against a strong melodic thrust. An excellent recording with standout contributions from both composer and trumpeter. Selwyn Harris