Album review: Dave Milligan Trio: Shops

Published on Thursday 18 December 2008 20:19

**** TOB RECORDS, £11.76

PIANIST Dave Milligan already had a slightly unusual discography even before the release of this project from the ever-innovative An Tobar arts centre on Mull. His first CD as a jazz pianist was a solo release based on music he wrote for Mike Maran's one-man theatre show Did You Used To Be RD Laing? His only other jazz release as a leader was a more conventional affair on Tom Bancroft's now defunct Caber Records, which also featured the line-up from Shops, with bassist Tom Lyne and Bancroft on drums.

Otherwise, his recorded output is either as a member of Colin Steele's quintet or in a more folk-oriented vein with Bachue Caf and The Unusual Suspects, both of which he co-leads with his partner, harpist Corrina Hewat.

That discography suggests two things – a wide-ranging eclecticism when it comes to musical sensibility, and a definite under-representation for his own jazz work. He may be a little too self-effacing for his own good in that respect, because his playing is consistently up there with the best that the current jazz scene has to offer. Shops may not be the disc to cement that reputation, but it is an enjoyably quirky artefact that is simultaneously satisfying musically. The album was commissioned by An Tobar's director, Gordon Maclean, as the final part of a series of three jazz projects in Tobermory, and offered the musicians the chance to visit selected shops on the harbour front and write music for them, which then would be premiered individually in the shops as a prelude to a full concert at An Tobar.

Anyone who knows these musicians will realise that such a zany challenge would appeal to their collective sense of humour, but all remember the final occasion as being an emotionally charged affair in which a genuine sense of community, struggle for survival and identity came to the fore.

Both elements are detectable in the seven compositions on the disc. The music itself is augmented by Bancroft's "soundscapes", made up of snippets of interviews with various shop owners, looped and processed in a rather basic fashion that may reflect time constraints in the week of the project. Those excerpts may pall with repeated listening, but they do add to the atmosphere of the disc as a reflection of the project. The actual instrumental music stands up well on its own as well as forming an integral part of the wider project. All three players contributed compositions, and each makes their own stylistic impact.

Milligan's opening piece, Duncan's, launches on a sparkling up-tempo theme with Monk-ish interjections, launched over an insistent groove that sets the tone for the contemporary feel of much that follows.

His sure sense of touch and improvisational invention is a constant feature, as is the positive energy and genuine group feel that the three musicians project.

If You Need a Painting in an Emergency is inspired by a sign in Ronnie Leckie's art shop which led the musicians to wonder what sort of emergency might generate an urgent need for a painting. Judging by Milligan's elegant ballad, they opted for a very relaxed variety.

The sinuous melody and flowing mid-tempo groove of Tobermory Story concludes Milligan's compositional input. Tom Bancroft's Browns immediately introduces a different feel, with a chanted chorus of "Browns Hardware Store" set to a muscular drum rhythm that is then answered in Milligan's urgent piano figures.

Bancroft's second piece, Tackle & Books, contains the longest and most amusing of his soundscapes, but eventually opens into a strong and attractive instrumental piece.

Tom Lyne supplies the last two pieces. Catriona's has a strong feel of the Esbjrn Svensson Trio in both its melody line and its rhythmic groove, while Closing provides a gentle and evocative conclusion to the project.

The CD provides a very enjoyable record of a singular commission, but the music has already proved to have significance for audiences beyond its creative context, and this release should broaden that reach even further.

&#149 For more information, and to buy Shops, visit: www.davemilligan.co.uk