After a decade of playing together, Dinosaur’s latest offering To the Earth on Edition Records is a more acoustic album than past recordings. The band, featuring Laura Jurd on trumpet, Elliot Galvin on piano, Conor Chaplin on double bass and Corrie Dick on drums, present mostly new material that is exploratory but also maintains the sonic elasticity of their previous albums.
Dinosaur have always held much promise, and now that promise is coming to fruition as they become increasingly cited as one of the best British ensembles ever to walk the earth.
The title track from To the Earth boasts many colors and different depths. From its brief fanfare opening, over which the trumpet enters to establish a tuneful episode, the intricacy of the percussion underneath is a pretty delight. The track changes to a trumpet-led mellifluous section, with solid support from the rest of the quartet. The rhythms becomes swingy, sexy and the piano of Elliot Galvin is heard meandering along wondrous pathways. Chaplin’s bass solo is authoritative, just held in check by the counteractions of the piano and the constant, rhythmic drums before Jurd’s trumpet carries a transition to an evocative drum statement from Corrie Dick. The ensemble once again work under the trumpet lead, which evolves and devolves over the final two minutes of the track.
“Slow Loris” has a creeping 4/4 opening, with bass dictating the pace, building (slowly). After a section with more than a touch of the 1970s jazz house band to it, there is a gap. Following this pause – for reflection, perhaps? – the track continues to build. “Slow Loris” remains ponderous but now has a renewed sense of direction, until a series of full blasts which herald the piano-led interlude. The melody of these lines is contrasted by the perfectly pitched yet raw blares from Jurd on trumpet. The muted trumpet wah-wahs its voice over the top and then takes over the lead, with bass, piano and percussion in strong support. A synthesizer makes a valiant attempt to imitate a B-flat clarinet too, as it vies with Chaplin’s bass at times. A lovely section with contrasting rhythms in the accompaniment with trumpet follows, then a recurrent pattern prevails.
“Banning Street Blues” has a sense of fun and clockwork rhythms, enhanced by cowbell knocks in the percussion and a cheeky rhythm which is returned to again and again. Fast, fun and frivolous. What comes over loud and clear in this track is the pin-point rhythmic accuracy of the players, and the nigh perfect reactions to each other. There is a strength here which is undeniable, yet also a sense of four musicians having great fun. The solos are short, sweet and always supported.
“Mosking” is introduced by rattling strings and eclectic percussion, into which mix the trumpet drops a theme over Chaplin’s steady bass. Elliot Galvin’s piano breaks into the lines before the rhythms change and the number is suddenly more intense, faster and focused lower, due to the emerging influence of the bass line. Piano and percussion work together in the middle section, all the while over steady bass. A percussion led section and then a slightly ethereal finish put the final touches to this interesting and diverse number.
Billy Strayhorn’s “Absinthe” is delivered in distinct Dinosaur style. The familiar sax line of Paul Gonsalves or maybe Johnny Hodges is deftly delivered by Jurd in the opening stages but she interposes some raw touches of her own, assuming temporary ownership. A lot goes on underneath, including a single electronic line following the trumpet in non-perfect harmony which irks until the second third, when it drops out. From there, the band are together, swinging the number and taking it into realms Strayhorn may have only dreamt of. That reedy/electronic under-voice is there again like an auditory hallucination later, but quickly the music disgorges it and we are back to mesmeric improvisation around the chords. This is Dinosaur’s “Absinthe,” not the original but in many areas stronger and a little more intoxicating.
“Held By Water” is intense, opened by trumpet and drums for the first sixth before Elliot Galvin’s piano gently but assuredly interlopes and takes the lead, the sound swelling and ebbing. Laura Jurd’s trumpet sings back and there follows just over two minutes of sharp, communicative interaction between the band members. “For One” is almost funereal in the opening phrase, but this sense vanishes as the piano adds gentle assurance and the trumpet develops lines across the top with a gentleness, yet also emotive rawness which is engaging and draws the listener deeper into the music.
Dinosaur’s To the Earth is an album of surety, quality and a justifiable sense of entitlement. This band know what they are doing; they are playing together, they are listening to each other – and they do this so well that what comes across is a sense that this is meant to be. They create a range of moods and themes while also stepping back to past influences and forward into new territory. Melodies are explored and the improvisation is joyful. Everyone gets to lead, dictate changes, follow and suggest an alternative route.
Dinosaur are four musicians with talent, integrity and – maybe above all – a sense of being part of this. To the Earth is a superb album.
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