Julian Arguelles Doublespeak

“Doublespeak”

(Escape Records ESC24)

Julian Arguelles – saxophones, clarinets, flutes, keyboards, percussion, programming, editing

with;
Martin France – drums, Helge Andreas Norbakken – percussion, Steve Arguelles – drum loops

Since first coming to prominence in the late 1980s as a member of the seminal Loose Tubes saxophonist and composer Julian Arguelles has enjoyed a stellar solo career and has arguably been the most consistently interesting musician to have emerged from the great British musical institution that was Loose Tubes.

Arguelles’ début recording as a leader was released in 1991 and announced the arrival of a major new presence on the British jazz scene. “Phaedrus” was a quartet album that revealed Arguelles’ huge talent as a writer as pianist John Taylor, drummer Martin France and bassist Mick Hutton helped to give voice to his multi-faceted compositions. 

He didn’t return to this instrumental format until 2014 and the release of the excellent “Circularity”, which featured Taylor, France and star bassist Dave Holland. This was never a line up that was likely to become a regular working band but with his passion for the quartet format renewed Arguelles set about about forming a new group featuring some of the UK’s top up and coming musicians. The new quartet was called Tetra and featured Kit Downes on piano, Sam Lasserson on double bass and James Maddren on drums, this line up releasing the albums “Tetra” (2015) and “Tonadas” (2018), for which Ivo Neame replaced Downes at the piano. 

Julian has recorded in a variety of instrumental settings from duo (with brother Steve) to big band and in the 1990s led an international octet that recorded two superb albums, “Skull View” (1997) and “Escapade” (1999). They feature Julian’s rich, colourful, multi-faceted writing and his compositions are particularly satisfying in terms of colour and texture, the octet functioning as kind of ‘mini jazz orchestra’”.

The pianist in the Arguelles octet was the Portuguese musician Mario Laginha, who linked up again with Arguelles and the Norwegian drummer / percussionist Helge Andreas Norbakken to release the albums “Setembro” (2017) and “Atlantico” (2020) on Edition Records.

Other international collaborations include Arguelles’ trio with the American musicians Michael Formanek (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums), with whom he recorded the album “Partita” (Basho Records, 2006).

The above in no way represents a comprehensive overview of Arguelles’ solo career, but it has been defined by an extraordinarily high level of quality control. The standard of both the playing and the writing on his fifteen albums as a leader to date has been consistently superb, regardless of line up or musical context.

In addition to his work as a leader Arguelles has also been an in demand sideman, working with such luminaries as pianists John Taylor, Django Bates and Carla Bley, trumpeters Kenny Wheeler and Henry Lowther, saxophonist Andy Sheppard and guitarist Samo Salamon. He has also played, written and arranged for various big bands, both in the UK and internationally.

Arguelles’ latest album is “Doublespeak”, which features him multi-tracking himself on a variety of reed instruments, including saxophones, clarinets and flutes, plus keyboards and percussion. It’s very much a studio creation, recorded at various locations in London, Oslo and Graz, Austria, where Arguelles now lives and works (he holds a teaching post at the city’s KUGJazz Institute).  Engineers Terje Evensen (Oslo)  and Peter Beckmann (London) also play important roles in the creative process.

Arguelles describes the music as “using the affordances of cutting edge music software to explore the interface where the timeless sound of breath, reed, and mouthpiece combine with the limitless possibilities of digital technology”.

But it’s not just a solo recording as the album sees Arguelles collaborating with three drummer / percussionists who have all been significant figures in his career to date, brother Steve Arguelles, Helge Andreas Norbakken and the late Martin France, Julian’s colleague in Loose Tubes and his drummer of choice for so many of his solo projects.

In many ways the new album feels like the natural successor to Julian’s 1996 alum “Scapes” (Babel Records) which featured him playing multiple reeds and keyboards in conjunction with brother Steve’s drums and percussion.

With regard to both “Scapes” and “Doublespeak” Julian acknowledges the influence of the British saxophonist and composer John Surman and his pioneering solo albums for ECM in the 1980s.  He says;
“I love this way of recording. It’s such a change from the collaborative quartet or trio. I can change the music however I like, use the programme to suggest new possibilities and expand or contract the number of voices whenever I feel like it”.
Surman’s influence is even referenced in the title of one of the twelve tracks, but more on that later.

Julian also says of his creative process;
“Each tune led it’s own way - I’ve always enjoyed making music that’s both accessible and weird at the same time. With new tech, there’s a tendency to use it in obvious ways and fall into pitfalls - I tried to stay away from obvious digital looping and warping effects and make an album that really appeals to the listener on its own merits. Ultimately I want to make music that I’m proud of, make it as good as possible and not get distracted by the constant noise of modern living.” 

The album commences with “Slipstream”, an entirely solo creation that sees Julian making highly effective use of the technology available to him with multi-tracked woodwinds gradually building over a shuffling rhythm track featuring Julian’s own percussion playing. The various horns are skilfully layered and edited to give the impression of a much larger ensemble, a ‘mini-big band’ if you will, with Julian playing various types of saxophone, he really is a master of them all. But perhaps even more impressive than the playing is Julian’s overall musical vision and the way in which the various components mesh together to create a cohesive and convincing whole.

“Top Hat Of Night” includes drum sounds sampled from Steve Arguelles’  “Drum a Day” project and features Julian’s sinuous sax melodies twining gently and seductively around a languid looped drum groove.

“Emel” features spacey, ambient textures combined with folk like woodwind melodies that sometimes suggest the influence of Arabic music. The percussive sounds on this piece are provided by Norbakken, and were presumably recorded in his native Norway.

Martin France makes his first appearance on “(Get Down and) Give Me 50”, a more upbeat offering with France contributing a funk style drum groove as Julian cuts loose on raunchy tenor sax, while also doubling on other reeds and making a substantial contribution on keyboards.

“The Juggler” represents an apt title, with Julian very much juggling different roles on what is essentially a solo record. This piece, a totally solo performance, effectively finds him duetting with himself via a combination of multi-tracked reeds and accompanying software, with the brushed drum sounds provided by Julian himself. His soprano sax dances lightly and lithely around a rhythm track comprised of multi-tracked reed and percussion sounds.

A second solo piece, “Para Percy” is named for the Birmingham based trumpeter, bassist, composer and bandleader Percy Pursglove and is almost hymnal in tone, with Julian’s flute adding something of a celestial tone to the proceedings.

Martin France introduces “Superspreader”, setting the scene a lively, rumbustious dialogue between his drums and Julian’s saxes and keyboards. Embracing aspects of bebop, Loose Tubes style whimsy and a harder edged element associated with more contemporary styles of jazz this is a real musical roller coaster ride that makes for enthralling listening. It’s very much a conversation of equals with France making a huge contribution to the success of the performance.
Julian says of his long standing musical relationship with the late France;
 “Martin and I hear music the same way - he’s one of my favourite accomplices”.

“Pale Blue Dot” takes its title from an image of the Earth as seen from space and also features France as Julian’s collaborator. It’s a very different kind of musical conversation to “Superspreader”, more intimate, atmospheric and lyrical, with France’s brushed drums and shimmering cymbals complementing the sounds of multi-tracked reeds and keyboards. There’s a quiet beauty about the performance that mirrors the fragility of our planet.

“Biafra” is inspired by West African music and the traditions of the Yoruba people. This piece features Norbakken as Julian’s rhythmic partner, with his joyous West African percussion rhythms complementing the earthy sounds of Julian’s saxes.

A Steve Arguelles drum loop provides the strong rhythmic component on the brief “Hippopotamuses”, another piece with a distinctive African feel. Steve’s busy, shuffling rhythms fuel Julian’s sax melodies and ululations. There’s an agreeable quirkiness about both the tune title and the playing of the musicians that brings back fond memories of the Loose Tubes days.

The final two pieces feature Julian solo. “Murmuration” features twin soprano saxes gently intertwining, the delicate musical aerobatics generally a little more gentle than the actual starling murmurations that I have witnessed. Nevertheless you sense exactly where Julian is coming from.

Lastly we hear “Jayess”, Julian’s dedication to John Surman. Based around a nagging electronically generated phrase that almost sounds as if it might have been made by a recorder, Julian lays down a rich choir of low register saxes, these contrasting effectively with the accompanying high pitched electronics / recorder loop. It’s an unmistakable homage to Surman and his groundbreaking solo work.

Julian Arguelles has never made a bad album, and he’s not about to start now. “Doublespeak” has obviously been a labour of love and retains an essentially human feel, despite the extensive use of technology. The focus remains on the sounds of Julian’s various horns and of the various drums and percussion, as opposed to keyboards and electronics, these being used to supply additional colour and texture, rather then being foregrounded. The album therefore retains an air of warmth and humanity.

I assume that the initial seeds for the album were sown during the lockdown period, when Julian was doubtless experimenting with the new musical technology, whilst no doubt also recalling “Scapes”.

“Doublespeak” was finally recorded in April and May 2023 and must have represented one of France’s last recordings. He makes an enormous contribution to the success of the three tracks upon which he plays and as such the album represents a fitting memorial.

But ultimately the triumph is that of Julian Arguelles, who wrote all the material and played the majority of the instruments, displaying an excellent command of modern musical technology in the process.

“Doublespeak” is an impressive piece of work and a total success on its own terms. Having said that it’s not likely to become my favourite ever Julian Arguelles album. As impressive as the album is I still miss the interaction of a quartet or the quasi orchestral richness of Julian’s magnificent international octet. Nevertheless it’s a worthy addition to a very distinguished body of consistently exceptional work.

from  www.thejazzmann.com