SLAMCD325 George Haslam, Stefano Pastor, Steve Kershaw & Paul Hession – Helios Suite

Free jazz quartet recording by saxophonist George Haslam, violinist Stefano Pastor, bassist Steve Kershaw and drummer Paul Hession performing a Pastor and Haslam original each, that bookends the striking three part improvised “Helios Suite”.

George Haslam: baritone saxophone, tarogato
Stefano Pastor: violin
Steve Kershaw: double bass
Paul Hession: drums

“Hession drums brilliantly throughout. Like a Yorkshire Blakey, Kershaw digs into the Thames Valley earth, Haslam’s tarogato swings amiably and Pastor’s bow seethes across his strings. The final stomping track is Pastor’s, a tune written about the Oxford town Abingdon by a violinist from Genoa. Halfway through, baritone and violin enjoy an unaccompanied colloquy, questioning, answering and debating with untiring voices, a free jazz conversation in the heart of rural Britain in the middle of a music first made where the Mississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico. This is jazz of the world!” – Chris Searle, Morning Star

“Slam exists in part to put out Haslam’s own work, and this is one of the best of his projects so far. Pastor’s work is thoughtful and intriguingly elided. He’s not showy and in his presence Haslam takes on a more reticent cast. Hession, a long-standing partner of the saxophonist’s, is one of the best percussionists on the scene, a thoughtful improviser who combines power and pulse with a refreshing richness of detail. Kershaw, though is often the key element in these pieces, something noticeable when he isn’t there, providing solid pillars of sound that hold the whole thing up.” – Brian Morton

Recorded 18 September 2006 at Bull Pen Studios, Marcham, Oxfordshire. Recording engineers Eric Smith and Alan Howell.
Mixing and mastering by Stefano Pastor.
Produced by George Haslam and Stefano Pastor.

SLAM CATALOGUE