John Turville - Head First (2019) [Hi-Res]

Pianist and educator John Turville has established himself as a mainstay of the UK and European contemporary jazz scenes in his varied roles as sideman, co-leader and trio/quartet leader. This debut quintet release,

‘Head First’, includes the estimable names of saxophonist Julian Argüelles, double bassist Dave Whitford, drummer James Maddren and versatile trumpeter Robbie Robson.

Available on a high quality, 6 panel digipack with a velvety soft-touch laminate finish and 180 gram, 12” LP - comes with download code containing the digital album in multiple formats.

Inspired greatly by the music of mentor John Taylor, as well as Kenny Wheeler, Turville was one of many artists who came together for the Jazz Piano Summit concert of 2015 dedicated to Taylor’s immeasurable musical legacy. There,Turville presented his own homage, “A Perfect Foil” (which appears on this album), igniting a desire to realise originals and interpretations for an expanded line-up. The resulting collaboration, featuring Julian Argüelles, is a radiant celebration of British jazz creativity which also confirms the pianist’s mastery of composition and performance.

Turville’s sound world is informed by the likes of Fred Hersch (the album title a playful though gracious twist on his name) and Bill Evans, yet is frequently imbued with the harmonic colouring of classical composers such as John Ireland, Federico Mompou and the French Romantics.

Other tracks include the bustling “Fall Out”, with strong horn motifs and driving, bass-propelled rhythms and turbulent, piano-figured “Seahorses” recalls a stormy sea trip off Seahouses, on the wild Northumberland coast, reflected in billowing, improvisatory freedom. “Almagro Nights”, for piano trio, is full of Buenos Aires hustle, spotlighting Turville’s brightness at the keyboard, while impressionistic soprano-and-piano “Interval Music” finds Argüelles waltzing oh so elegantly into the sublime, descending phrases of ‘A Perfect Foil’.

Brisk samba, ‘Head First’, characterised by bass and piano features, leads to ‘Ennerdale’, whose yearning horns and lush pianism evoke the serenity of The Lake District (listen out for the quotation of Taylor’s ‘Ambleside’); and a gossamer trumpet-and-piano arrangement of Diego Schissi’s ‘Cancion 4’ echoes a certain Wheeler melancholy. Turville’s championing of favorite artists continues with a blithe piano trio take on Brazilian jazz guitarist Toninho Horta’s ‘Francisca’, while the tenor fluidity of Julian Argüelles’ ‘A Month in Tunisia’ is buoyed by Whitford’s and Maddren’s West African-pulsed precision. Lisztian mystery threads through ‘Cyclic Chorale’s tentative trio openness before the set closes with a luxuriously swinging interpretation of Michel Petrucciani’s ‘Beautiful But Why’.

John Turville confirms, “It’s just a dream to work with this quintet.” Throughout Head First, it’s plainly obvious why.