
XHOSA COLE
On A Modern Genius (Vol.1) (Stoney Lane)
Seven years after winning the BBC Young Jazz Musician Of The Year award, saxophonist Xhosa Cole and his quartet are establishing themselves as a major force on the British jazz scene with this bold interpretation of the work of Thelonious Monk.
Known for a flat-fingered ‘bad’ piano technique that produced spiky improvisations and jagged, disjunct melodies, Monk is a great choice for Cole to tackle. His saxophone playing is fluid but with brutal edges and an incredible sense of rhythm that pulls apart standards like Straight, No Chaser. In fact, the whole band almost takes it in turns to deconstruct Monk across these sprawling arrangements recorded in front of a live audience.
The addition of Liberty Styles’ tapdancing is reminiscent of Stanley Clarke’s playful side. But what is most striking is that Cole includes a Duke Ellington piece – Come Sunday, sung by Heidi Vogel – to close the set. Cole’s reluctance to be constrained by his own remit is refreshing, and maybe sets up a Vol.2 of music by the Duke himself.
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES