SLAMCD330 George Haslam, Richard Leigh Harris & Steve Kershaw – Suite of Dreams

‘Suite of Dreams’ presents esteemed baritone saxophonist George Haslam and his OxJaMS trio performing a self-composed “suite” of improvised music inspired by Oxford’s “Dreaming Spires”.

George Haslam has been hosting a regular series of jazz sessions in his hometown of Oxford since 2005, inviting guests such as Evan Parker, Lol Coxhill and Harry Beckett to join him and his regular group, made up of pianist Richard Leigh Harris and bassist Steve Kershaw.

For a long time they talked about recording the trio alone, eventually going for it in the newly opened HSO Studio, Oxford in April 2014. ‘Suite of Dreams’ takes its inspiration from Oxford’s “Dreaming Spires”, with all their strong historical and cultural associations, and the fact that the pieces were conceived very much as a suite, rather than separate individual takes’ in the studio.

The ten pieces on the album – solo performances by each musician, duos in all three combinations, and four trio pieces – are presented unedited, without any overdubs, and in the same order as they were performed on the day, allowing the listener to experience the continuities and contrasts in the music as the day unfolded.

George Haslam: baritone saxophone, clarinet and tarogato
Richard Leigh Harris: piano, keyboards
Steve Kershaw: double bass, electronics

“While George Haslam has expressed interest in many musical forms, he began to encompass free improvisation towards the end of the 1960s, but did not lose sight of more conventional forms. Suite of Dreams might be seen as following in this tradition: the suite was conceived as a whole and is presented as recorded, even the sequence as followed on the day. The music is extraordinary and I was never sure where it was next heading…It is completely warm and expansive, imaginative and enchanting and the baritone’s emphatic rendering is both erudite and tireless. It is a spiritual offering that does indeed lead to dreaming.” – Ken Cheetham, Jazz Views

“If you’re looking for sonic adventure with sweeping panoramas and strange vistas, you’ll love “Under A Different Sky” and its delicately nurtured drone atmospherics (as did I). My own personal favourite from the ten tunes offered up, though, was “Dancing Folk”…there’s an undercurrent running through this one that you just can’t escape (nor would you wish to).” – Rotcod Zzaj, Improvijazzation Nation

“The first piece, “Sostenuto” is a trio of taragato, synth and bass and it is spacious and eerie with strong walking bass in the mid-section. Each piece seems to evoke a different spirit or vibe. Harris plays synth or sampler, selectively adding colours or shades without taking over. Whether solo, duo or trio, there is a calm, careful and often haunting quality to this music that I dig.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

“The ten tunes here create evocative moods, with some eerie keyboards on “Sostenuto” and plucky Asian piano chords on “Tenebrae.” Some slap tonguing by Haslam makes Somethingology” fairly percussive, while sneezing sax reeds growl to electronic on the fuzzy “Dreaming in Spires.” Brooding reeds and bowed bass team up on “Under a Different Sky” and piano and bass make for some dark shadows on “Deja-Vu.” Jazz free impressionism.” – George W. Harris Jazz Weekly

Recorded by Christopher Humphries at HSO Studios, Oxford, 17 April 2014
Mastered by Eric Smith, Monstersound Studio, Spain

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