Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Olie Brice Quintet: Day After Day

1

Olie Brice Quintet: Day After Day

By

Sign in to view read count
Olie Brice Quintet: Day After Day
Three years on from the debut album by the Olie Brice Quintet, Immune to Clockwork (Multikulti Project, 2014), comes the follow-up, Day after Day. Despite the unchanged band name, the intervening years have brought changes; not only has the band switched record labels from Multikulti to Babel, tenor saxophonist Mark Hanslip has been replaced by George Crowley, and Polish alto clarinetist Wacław Zimpel by alto saxophonist Mike Fletcher. Despite those changes, most of the things that made the quintet work remain firmly in place; Alex Bonney is still there on cornet, his distinctive sound being the clarion call that opens the album and recurs throughout; the rhythm section of Brice on double bass and Jeff Williams on drums is also untouched, as before, keeping time without being intrusive or rigid and also acting as vital, dynamic members of the quintet.

Importantly, the new members have toured with the quintet and slotted in, already sounding as if they have been there for some time, doubtless helped by the album being recorded in June 2016, in the immediate aftermath of a UK tour for which Brice wrote this new material. In his sleeve notes, Brice makes reference to influences on the album's compositions; these include his reading matter at the time, Nathaniel Mackey's "From a Broken Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate" series of novels about musicians "for whom there is no outside of music, for whom improvisation and performance are ways of being," plus Brice's own experience of growing up in a Jewish community and the ecstatic joy of his favourite free jazz. Somehow those elements combined to give an occasional melancholy mood but, as before, the leader displays sound instincts about his compositions and choice of material for the band.

Compared to the first edition of the quintet, this one features more individual extended soloing than the former more collective approach, with the new members noticeably soloing for longer. Maybe to counteract this tendency, Brice has included three "Interruptions," one as a stand-alone track and the other two occurring during other pieces. Brice says that these sections were inspired by listening to Wadada Leo Smith compositions. These looser passages are very welcome and serve to dilute the feeling of a "queue of soloists." The eight-minute title track, which closes the album, has more of an ensemble approach and this contributes to it being the album's strongest piece. Taken as a whole, Day After Day makes satisfying listening but it leaves the impression that this edition of the band will produce a better album still.

(Check out the YouTube clip below of "Red Honey, Yellow Honey" recorded live at the Vortex on that 2016 tour.)

Track Listing

Aunt Nancy’s Balloons; Red Honey, Yellow Honey; Interruptions #1: Another Mad Yak; If You Were the Only Girl in the World; Day after Day.

Personnel

Olie Brice
bass, acoustic

Olie Brice: double bass; Alex Bonney: cornet; Mike Fletcher: alto sax; George Crowley: tenor sax; Jeff Williams: drums.

Album information

Title: Day After Day | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Babel Label

Comments

Tags

Concerts

Jun 18 Tue

For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.