It's always a pleasure when someone you know (and who hails from your home town) produces some work that is extraordinary in its beauty and lyricist. Particularly when someone you had always thought of as a bass player discovers her voice.
Pyne herself describes this album as: “an exploration of my life so far, as a woman, a mother and someone working in the creative industry. I hope to tell stories that everyone can relate to, from a modern female viewpoint. I really feel like I’ve found my voice with this album, and can’t wait to share the music!”
This pleasure comes with Nature Is A Mother, the second full length album from songwriter, bassist and vocalist Charlie Pyne. Until hearing these tracks, I had never known this talented instrumentalist was also a singer and a songwriter of note.
These nine original compositions feature a sublime quartet that clearly work well together, particularly when producing Pyne's individual and powerful tunes. There is plenty for them all to do, alongside Charlie's own bass, which frequently mirrors her voice on melodic lines. The quartet - Luke Pinkstone (sax), Liam Dunachie (piano) and Katie Patterson (drums) - are all well-respected musicians on the UK jazz scene and they tread a fine line between scintillating modern jazz as well as folk and classical hints. There are some particularly lovely sax solos from Pinkstone, particularly the soprano feature on Blackberries, where his solo weaves effortlessly between Pyne's voice and her bass.
Charlie Pyne works with many of the key names in modern British jazz, sitting alongside Alex Webb, Yazz Ahmed, Noel Langley, Zoe Rahman, Brigitte Beraha, Shirley Smart, Karen Street, Nikki Isles, Sophie Alloway, Tori Freestone, Ilario Ferrari, Alcyona Mick and Martin France. Now touring Europe with her own quartet, her experience has taken her into developing her own style that particularly comes to the fore with confident vocals on the album's title track.
It's always good when a bass player steps to the front of the metaphorical and acoustical stage and Pyne allows her quartet to shine, while dominating on this album which promises to appear on many people's lists of favourite jazz albums of 2024. It's definitely up there on mine.
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