''Cantilena'' is the second album recorded by the British jazz quartet,
First House. It was released by
ECM
ECM may refer to:
Economics and commerce
* Engineering change management
* Equity capital markets
* Error correction model, an econometric model
* European Common Market
Mathematics
* Elliptic curve method
* European Congress of Mathematics
...
. The album presents a studio performance of leader and saxophonist
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
with
Django Bates on
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
Mick Hutton
Mick Hutton (born 5 June 1956 in Chester, UK) is a British jazz bassist and composer.
Career
Hutton is known from the British jazz scene by his work with Harry Beckett (''Pictures of You'', 1985) and with Julian Argüelles, Iain Ballamy, Dja ...
on
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range:
** Bass (instrument), including:
** Acoustic bass gui ...
and
Martin France
Martin France (born 1964) is one of the top jazz drummers in the UK. He has recorded on over 100 albums and is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is sponsored by Paiste cymbals
Career
France began performing at the age of ...
on
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, recorded over 2 days in March, 1989 in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
Reception
Jazz commentator Richard Lehnert states "Well my first – and second and third-impressions of
First House's cool, sculpted, heady music are of sustained fires of excitement, intelligence, and clarity. Live long and prosper, guys – you've charted another great, serious jazz album."
Master saxophonist,
David Liebman comments on how... "his (Stubbs's) playing is remarkably cliche free" and also states, "It is so refreshing to hear young musicians going for a group sound as their major goal.
In
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
, Jeff Levenson cites
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
and
Django Bates as examples of how "Great Britain's young turks have adopted him (
John Coltrane) as a spiritual forebear.
High Fidelity Magazine stated that, "The future of British jazz is in good hands with this acoustic quartet. The follow up to the well-received '
Eréndira', 'Cantilena' is a relaxed, free form set with classy performances all round but some particularly fine playing from
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
on alto sax."
[High Fidelity). February 1990]
Track listing
#"Cantilena"
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
– 3:28
#"Underfelt"
Django Bates – 4:52
#"Dimple"
Django Bates – 3:51
#"Sweet Williams"
Django Bates – 5:05
#"Low Down (Toytown)"
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
– 3:28
#"Hollyhocks"
Django Bates – 3:23
#"Madeleine After Prayer"
Eddie Parker – 1:47
#"Shining Brightly"
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
– 4:12
#"Jay-Tee"
Django Bates – 3:55
#"Pablo"
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
– 3:15
Personnel
*
Ken Stubbs
Ken Stubbs (born 29 March 1961) is an English jazz musician, alto saxophonist and composer.
Early life
Ken Stubbs was born in Old Swan, Liverpool, United Kingdom and later attended Blackpool Grammar School. In 1978-80 he studied saxophone, com ...
– alto and soprano saxophones
*
Django Bates –
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
tenor horn
The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flug ...
*
Mick Hutton
Mick Hutton (born 5 June 1956 in Chester, UK) is a British jazz bassist and composer.
Career
Hutton is known from the British jazz scene by his work with Harry Beckett (''Pictures of You'', 1985) and with Julian Argüelles, Iain Ballamy, Dja ...
–
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
*
Martin France
Martin France (born 1964) is one of the top jazz drummers in the UK. He has recorded on over 100 albums and is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is sponsored by Paiste cymbals
Career
France began performing at the age of ...
–
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
*
Manfred Eicher –
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*Jan Erik Konshaug –
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
*Dieter Rehm –
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
References
{{Authority control
Albums produced by Manfred Eicher
1989 albums
ECM Records albums
Ken Stubbs albums