Label: Hide Inside Records
Personnel - Neil Cowley: piano; Rex Horan: bass; Evan Jenkins: drums.
English pianist and composer Neil Cowley has captured the attention of modern jazz audiences with poetic instrumentals that emphasize subtlety and melodic clarity over overt virtuosity. Entity marks a warmly received and re-energized reunion with his trio mates, bassist Rex Horan and drummer Evan Jenkins, following a seven-year hiatus.
With a refined touch, the trio delivers 11 literate, thoughtfully crafted originals that highlight their sophisticated musical sensibilities. Cowley’s ability to set a mood with just a few notes is evident in “Marble”, a 3/4 crossover piece that feels like a fusion of cerebral post-bop and Spanish folk dance, reminiscent of Chick Corea. “Those Claws” leans into a soulful ostinato and syncopated drumming to create a spellbinding, minimalistic ambiance, while “V&A” offers a sublime spiritual tone, unfolding gracefully in an unconventional meter.
“Father Daughter”, with its pop/rock disposition, could easily fit into Radiohead’s repertoire, while “Adam Alphabet” is rhythmically defiant with its additive meter {8+8+6} and fascinating interplay that hints at electronic dance music. Both “Lemon Meringue” and “Sir Benjamin” unfold in quintuple meter, with the former pulsating with rhythm and the latter finding its own pocket in a slower, dreamy way. The trio makes their instruments soar in “Brood”, another 3/4 piece wrapped in serenity, and “Photo Box”, an emotionally resonant ballad layered with delicate cascading piano, sparse bass propagations, and gently brushed drums.
Entity is exactly the album Cowley needed to create at this stage in his career. With tremendous assurance, he and his cohorts deliver music that is as much difficult to label as to resist.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Marble ► 02 - Those Claws ► 03 - V&A ► 08 - Lemon Meringue