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Indigo Kid II: Fist Full Of Notes

By Karl Ackermann
August 7, 2015
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At the risk of implying that the very selective UK-based Babel Label has gone "mainstream," they have—of late—issued a number of releases that certainly have a broader appeal. A homage to

Bill Evans

piano
1929 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Evans Postcard to Bill Evans (2015) and vocalist

Emilia Martensson

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Emilia Martensson's fine Ana (2014), now share a catalog with cutting edge artists like pianist

Alexander Hawkins

piano
b.1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Alexander Hawkins and groups like

Woven Entity

" data-original-title="" title="">Woven Entity and

Black Top

" data-original-title="" title="">Black Top. To be fair, Babel has long produced more genre-agnostic talent like vocalist

Christine Tobin

vocals
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Christine Tobin (the best known artist on the label) and guitarist/vocalist

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Jenkins, so they have always been more eclectic than uniform. Fitting in to the former classification is guitarist Dan Messore, who leads Indigo Kid II with a second release Fist Full of Notes.

Messore, relatively unknown in the US jazz market, is a UK native who lived in Costa Rica for several years, absorbing the cultural influences and working them into his strong inherent inspirations. Not limited to jazz, he has incorporated folk and theatrical themes in his inventive compositions. Following up on the self-titled debut (Babel, 2012), Messore returns with bassist

Tim Harries

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Harries, formerly of

Bill Bruford

drums
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Bruford's Earthworks and Steeleye Span. The other returning player is the esteemed saxophonist/composer

Iain Ballamy

saxophone, tenor
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Iain Ballamy whose work with Thomas St?nen (Food), Earthworks, composer/pianist and horn player

Django Bates

piano
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Django Bates, pianist

Kenny Werner

piano
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Werner,

Gil Evans

composer / conductor
1912 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Gil Evans and

Carla Bley

piano
1938 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Carla Bley, make him the household name in Indigo Kid.

New additions to Indigo Kid II include UK saxophonist/composer Trish Clowes, a rising star in her own right, with three leader recordings and glowing reviews in the British press. On Fist Full of Notes she essentially takes over the reeds from Ballamy whose participation is limited to two of ten tracks. English drummer

Martin France

drums
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Martin France has been a pillar of rhythm on nearly one-hundred recordings and dates with Loose Tubes, Human Chain and Delightful Precipice, cross-genre icon

Elvis Costello

vocals
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Elvis Costello as well as orchestrated projects with The London Sinfonietta and BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra.

The compositions on Indigo Kid's debut album were spare in comparison to Fist Full of Notes where there is a pervasive sense of business. More texturing applies throughout, whether in the Celtic jazziness of the opener "Snow On The Presellis" or the eerily electronic "Mr. Randall." Clowes' melodic tenor, on the first piece, and France's

Bill Bruford

drums
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Bruford-like drumming on the latter are good examples of the broad scope of music on the disc. Ballamy makes the most of his involvement, especially on the darkly cinematic "The Healing Process." "Carpet Boys"—the only long piece at nine-plus minutes—and "From Here to Our Place" are the best places to appreciate Messore's guitar.

Messore is a broadly talented composer and his playing often conjures up

Bill Frisell

guitar, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Frisell's work on Ghost Town (Nonesuch, 2000). Messore is capable of drenching a piece in atmosphere and while he is as gifted technically, he wisely avoids showpieces, opting for group dynamics. Fist Full of Notes at times feels like too many stylistic variations for one album, but all are very good individually as are the veteran and younger artists themselves.

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Track Listing

Snow On The Presellis; Waiting For Paula; Carpet Boys; All Hands To Dance And Skylark; From Nowhere To Our Place; The Healing Process; Mr Randall; Quiet Waters; The Bay; Sketches In The Fabric.

Personnel

Dan Messore

Dan Messore: guitar; Trish Clowes: tenor saxophone; Tim Harries: bass; Martin France: drums; Iain Ballamy: tenor saxophone (6, 10).

Album information

Title: Fist Full Of Notes | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Babel Label

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