Label: Recordiau Bopa
Source: The Jazz Mann
Burum is a sextet co-led by the Williams brothers Tomos (trumpet) and
Daniel (tenor sax). Originally from Aberystwyth the brothers are now
based in Cardiff and the Burum line up includes some of the finest jazz
musicians on the South Wales scene in the shapes of pianist Dave Jones,
bassist Aidan Thorne and drummer Mark O’Connor. The band is completed by
Ceri Rhys Matthews, a folk musician who specialises on the wooden
flute. Matthews is very much the ‘wild card’ of the group and his
contributions do much to give Burum their unique group sound.
The Burum project has its genesis in the Welsh folk group Fernhill
which includes Tomos Williams and Matthews alongside singer Julie Murphy
and others. Since 2007 Burum have been carving out their own
distinctive musical niche with their jazz arrangements of traditional
Welsh folk tunes and hymns. “Llef”, meaning “The Cry” is their third
album of such material following in the wake of the acclaimed “Alawon”
(meaning “Tunes”) from 2007 and the excellent “Caniadau” (“Songs”) from
2012. The group name Burum means “yeast”, which I’ve always felt to an
appropriate moniker given the way that they transform their chosen
source material into something new, seemingly by a process of musical
alchemy.
Burum are currently touring the “Llef” material around Wales and I
was lucky enough to witness the first performance of the tour on 11th
May 2016 at the Queens Head in Monmouth. Despite a little initial
roughness around the edges at the beginning of this inaugural show there
was much to enjoy with some terrific individual soloing and some
increasingly confident and well integrated ensemble playing. All of the
material was sourced from the album and I’ll be taking a closer look at
this as I review the album in depth. The only real disappointment at the
gig was the rather poor audience turnout, surprisingly low for the
Queens in recent times. The stayaways didn’t know what they were missing
but the enthusiasm of the small but supportive crowd was still
sufficient to bring the band back for a well deserved encore.
The majority of the arrangements on the new album are by Tomos Williams beginning with a forty five second snippet of the title track, a brief chorale featuring the unique front line of trumpet, tenor sax and wooden flute. Burum took their inspiration for this from Thelonious Monk, who opened his 1957 album “Monk’s Music” with a fifty five second version of “Abide With Me”. Meanwhile “Llef” bookends this new Burum album with a full six and a half minute performance of the piece at the end of the record, which I’ll address more fully later.
The majority of the arrangements on the new album are by Tomos Williams beginning with a forty five second snippet of the title track, a brief chorale featuring the unique front line of trumpet, tenor sax and wooden flute. Burum took their inspiration for this from Thelonious Monk, who opened his 1957 album “Monk’s Music” with a fifty five second version of “Abide With Me”. Meanwhile “Llef” bookends this new Burum album with a full six and a half minute performance of the piece at the end of the record, which I’ll address more fully later.
The succinct but charming intro leads into the playful “Titrwm
Tatrwm”, which translates as “Pitter Patter” and references the
seemingly universal folk custom of tapping upon a sweetheart’s window to
gain access. The music is introduced by a roll of O’Connor’s drums
before settling on an arrangement that owes something to the modal jazz
of the 1960s. If John Coltrane had been born in Wales maybe he would
have sounded something like this. The piece is notable for a rumbustious
piano solo from Dave Jones which reflects his love of the playing of
Coltrane’s one time pianist McCoy Tyner. Daniel Williams also impresses
on tenor as he adopts the John Coltrane role while the overall ensemble
sound is powerful and convincing with O’Connor’s colourful and flexible
drumming helping to drive the arrangement.
“Pryd O’wn ar Ddiwrnod” (“When On A Day Returning”) reveals another
side of the band with its more obviously folk influenced arrangement
featuring the wispy Celtic melancholy of Mathews’ wooden flute in the
introductory stages. Things then take a jazzier turn with a plangent
trumpet solo from Tomos Williams and a thoughtful piano feature from
Jones. Read more...
