By Seby D’Souza
I had heard the name “Matthew Kilner” long before I had the pleasure of meeting the saxophonist after a great concert he played at Cowdray Hall last Christmas. From our conversation, his passion for jazz was evident, so when he reached out with news of his upcoming debut album release and a request to review it, I leapt at the chance. I’d like to thank Matthew for his trust in providing access to The Space In Between two weeks ahead of its release and for the opportunity to discuss this project that has been years in the making.
The single for the album, “The Lighthouse”, best encapsulates a lot of how the rest of the songs sound. Kilner finds this beautiful balance between cliché and originality that gives the song a timeless feel, helping to contribute to how easy the album is to listen to. With musicians of this calibre, overplaying (playing material in an overly complex manner) is a risk that can detract from the emotional arc of a piece. I don’t believe that to be an issue here at all; the restraint on display helps to keep the album approachable while still including enough complexity for the more jazz-inclined listener.
A big part of that is due to how the pieces are structured. Many jazz standards can be broken down into an intro, a head (comparable to a chorus or hook in a pop song), and solos. Kilner’s writing of relatively simple melodies for the heads makes them unbelievably catchy. Two examples that spring to mind are “Ask or Tell”’s groovy dorian melody that wouldn’t sound out of place on Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, and “The Space In Between”’s intro that hammers home another simplistic melody over luscious harmonies. By first giving us an easily digestible foundation, the band are allowed more freedom in their improvised solos.
This freedom is where you can really hear the virtuosity of the band. The eccentric opening track, “Harry the Heron”, features a solo from pianist Paul Harrison, in which he displays a mind-boggling display of control over the pulse of the piece. He’s not acting alone here; the real magic is in how drummer Alyn Cosker and bassist Ewan Hastie react to how Harrison feels the rhythm. This spontaneous synergy across the band is a direct result of years of dedication to the craft, and the payoff never fails to amaze.
As much as I’m in love with this album, I can’t help but to get hung up on its fifth track: “Freehearted”. It features a slow build up that climaxes into a screaming sax solo from Kilner. As great as that sounds on its own, it’s sandwiched between two of the most emotionally charged songs: “Haar” and “The Space In Between”. For me, “Haar” does a better job at creating, holding, and releasing tension, and “The Space In Between” is so effortlessly uplifting that “Freehearted” (ironically) gets lost in between. I assume that this decision is deliberate to alleviate “Haar”’s moodiness before the titular track, and while it does help the pair shine, it comes at a cost to “Freehearted”’s memorability.
When I first saw Kilner play back at Christmas, I wrote something that I feel still holds true for his writing: “He plays jazz like a backhanded compliment? He manages to play both politely and rudely at the same time?” Kilner exhibits a masterful discipline over his harmonic language to write lines that are sweet and endearing, while at any moment being able to explode into colourful, snarky runs. The Space In Between releases on March 7th, and if like me you’re wanting more, you can catch The Matthew Kilner Quartet live at the Blue Lamp on March 13th in Aberdeen Jazz Festival.
