PETER KNIGHT — All the Gravitation of Silence (review)

PETER KNIGHT — All the Gravitation of Silence album cover Album · 2006 · Nu Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
Peter Knight’s ‘All The Gravitation Of Silence’ is an introspective album. It’s beautiful and ethereal, uncluttered – players are given a lot of space to weave their magic, and soloists especially, are supported by an attentive rhythm section. What Knight and his Quartet (with guest Magnusson on guitar) do so well, is exemplified by the sublime opener 'Peppercorns.’ I had only to hear a short sample to know I was on board. I needed this album.

The impressionistic or ‘sketched’ approach here is equal parts soothing and equal parts unpredictable. Now I know drawing attention to the improvisational aspect of a jazz record might seem like a tautology, and while melody is really important in this release, what’s achieved around the melody keeps me hooked too. Maybe it’s moments like hearing Floyd’s fills on ‘Eunoia’ for instance, or when any other performer gets the spotlight and does something I wasn’t expecting, I haven’t tired of this album. I keep hearing new things. It could be a special resonance of notes in one of Hopkin’s solos or a neat transition from the whole group, this album keeps giving.

Occasional moments of dissonance surprise throughout, like the experimental ‘Haiku Number 2 and 3’ or the menacing, tension-building bass in ‘Cruikshank Park.’ Just one piece on the album kicks up a gear, when ‘Frankie D’ gets a little ‘Bitches Brew' and Magnusson’s usually delicate guitar becomes wild, but elsewhere the music is more peaceful, led by Knight’s lovely tone. Knight himself is an eclectic and versatile player, one of the best trumpeters in Australia, and one of my favourite jazz composers, both in a sense of risk-taking and in fusing styles (across his whole output) but here especially for his care in creating and supporting harmonious textures as a leader. His playing is never disruptive to the mood and ‘All The Gravitation of Silence’ is not short of moments where you can forget where you are, where you can forget whatever you've been feeling before you put it on. Beautiful work.
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