Words by Justin Turford
I was lucky enough to meet bandleader, composer and ace guitarist Greg Sanders on my birthday back in 2024, when he was performing with the wonderful Portuguese artist Inês Loubet in my hometown of Nottingham: his intricate, swinging guitar lines fitting like finely embedded threads of gold within Loubet’s sweetly delivered post-bossa tunes. Fast forward to early this year and Greg sent me his new album, this album, a brilliantly realised record of globally-infused danceable jazz with a hotshot band of Ben Brown (Waaju, Mulatu Astatke), Tom Herbert (Polar Bear, The Invisible, Acoustic Ladyland) and Greg’s fellow Teotima band member, the multidisciplinary composer and reedsman Sam Rapley on tenor sax.
These guys all know each other well but the suitably titled ‘Perfect Strangers’ is unbelievably the first time that they’ve played together as a quartet, their synchronous ability (and agility) to be in the same space without watering down their very specific identities remarkably cohesive, even outrageous. In fact, apart from Greg choosing these musicians because of their similarly shared improvisational chops and sensitive musicianship, he made a further point of sharpening that musical dialogue by recording the album live in a single room at the Fish Factory studio in London, with Nostalgia 77’s Benedic Lamdin on engineering duties.
“It was really important for me to have us all in the same room, so we could interact on a very detailed level, using all of our senses to communicate musically,” - Greg Sanders.
Let’s not mess about, this quartet cooks. Ben Brown is an instantly recognisable drummer whose career is built around his ten-armed ability to to be percussionist, kit drummer, bandleader and ethnomusicologist in one. Tom’s bass prowess is equally fluid, able to collaborate with some of the most progressively-minded UK jazz outfits of the last two decades as well as being the go-to bass player for artists as ridiculously successful as Adele and Lana Del Ray. Sam Rapley is a newer name to me but he’s a highly accomplished composer and orchestrator who has a huge musical CV in film and TV. As for Greg, his superb musicianship and leadership skills has seen him lead the world jazz big band, Teotima, work closely with Juanita Euka, and has been an instrumentalist or arranger-producer for an impressive array of global artists. It is from Greg’s initial compositions that these tunes were improvised on, the final results quite spectacular.
From the first bars of ‘Fallout’, we begin to understand what this band is about. Laid-back yet rhythmically energised, it feels Brazilian and also West African, a bit ECM records even, and yet also harbours elements of the borderless London sound. Built around a deliriously lovely riff, Tom Herbert’s fretless, rich-toned bass, reminiscent of the great Dave Holland, is as relaxed as it is muscular, Ben’s ever-shifting drums tap, shuffle and prod without losing the groove, Greg’s guitar playing shifts from elegant jazz harmonics to intricate African-inspired lines whilst Sam’s tenor sax blows with the laconic air of a 60s West Coast player, puffing out his cheeks when the group intensity shifts midway. The song ends just short of eight minutes but I could happily immerse myself in this for hours.
The lamenting ‘Dedication To David T’ is a beautifully sad homage to a departed friend, its sombre funeral march tempo lifted by colourful swipes of psychedelic guitar and a toughened groove sensibility that suggests resilience through grief. There’s a Scandinavian etherealness about this number, pain smudged like a darkened sky with purple, blue and grey hues.
The late night bossa-influenced ‘Vicentina’ contains everything one would expect from a 60s bossa tune - swinging drums, complex melodies, a warm, jaunty bottom end and a soloist as narrator. What it maybe lacks in originality, it certainly makes up with stunning individual performances, Tom’s bass a particular pleasure as he dances around the groove and Sam’s playful, smoky performance.
One thing that this quartet does incredibly well is making the complicated sound so natural. Isolate the rhythm section on ‘Perfect Strangers’ and your ears would melt: such intuitive interplaying is rare and if you then add Greg’s chiming Afro-jazz guitar, another layer of rhythm appears, never mind that this is all happening whilst an elaborate melody arrangement is developing. The horn playing from Sam is also on another level here, very Stan Getz in tone and perfectly considered for another song that wears its samba-jazz influences lightly.
Cuban trumpeter Yelfris Valdés joins as a guest soloist on the more straightforward ensemble number, ‘Family Tree’. Soul-jazz in the vein of a classic Blue Note session or a Roy Hargroves project, everyone grabs a moment in the sun, Greg’s pedal-heavy harmonic solo being a highlight.
‘Greatfields’ might be the shortest track on the album but its infectious, intricate groove is a delight. Structurally flawless, cheekily so, one can easily imagine the quartet egging each other on as they stop and start, Greg’s quirky West African jazz guitar irresistibly precise, as Sam’s slippery sax snakes its way over a bouncing bass line and double-speed brushwork.
Perhaps the track on the record that most resembles Ben Brown’s own Waaju project, ‘Negative Blues’ is the quartet at their funkiest and, to my ears, perfect in every way. Reaching a sense of higher state interconnectivity is a musician’s dream and this surging Afro-jazz track hits that golden spot with precision and attitude. Straightaway we are introduced to a brilliant interlocking groove of surging drums, Tom’s unbelievably funky bass playing and subtle percussive picking from Greg. Sam picks up with a teasing horn riff before Greg delivers a majestic solo that circles, harmonises and drives the tune at various sections. Sam then takes over with a solo that blends calming tones and punchy squawks, always returning to the riff. If this doesn’t make the crowd dance then the audience is in the wrong place.
The graceful, subtly funky ‘Heddon Street’ closes the album and is another great example of how these guys never step on each other’s toes. Like four dancers prepared to lead and follow as the song demands, this bluesy ballad sees all of the musicians allowing as much space as possible for each other. Dreamily romantic, the song is a sunny day but also a thinking day, the groove’s casual suppleness sliding its way into your own body as Greg and Sam pick and blow positive thoughts into your ears.
‘Perfect Strangers’ has rightfully been picking up rave reviews from across the board, it’s an incredible snapshot of four exceptional musicians just being present to each other as they explore Greg Sanders’ elegant compositions, taking them (and us) to immaculate moments of communion. This record is a great and timely reminder of what humans can achieve in a single room, together as one. 10/10.
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