There’s a playful irony in both the band and album names chosen by this new London jazz quartet led by guitarist/composer Greg Sanders. For a start this lush, intricately woven set of tunes played with finesse, vibrancy and uncanny sensitivity is anything but ‘lo-fi’. Perhaps the ‘Lophae’ just hints at Sanders’ move away from the large ensemble arrangements that he generated for Strut starlet Juanita Euka’s debut or his work with the stellar World Jazz collective Teotima. So maybe ‘Lophae’ sums up a downsizing.
As for ‘Perfect Strangers’, well for this project he’s gathered a tight group of players around him with whom he’s had some previous: in Teotima (Sam Rapley on tenor sax); as part of Juanita Euka’s band (bassist Tom Herbert); and on Jonny Wickham’s rated ‘Terra Boa’ release (drummer Ben Brown). So not exactly strangers then but that’s being picky, this is the first time the quartet has been convened and there’s perfection in this fresh connection.
What the quartet have conjured up is an album of honesty and openness, a set of ‘standard’ facing jazz tunes played with dynamism and shared thrill but without unnecessary gesturing or complications. Take the opener Fallout, a tune which glides along on a frictionless locomotive trip, gathering momentum sleekly. Sam Rapley’s relaxed tenor croons, Herbert’s warm bass mumbles while the articulate drum chatter and Sander’s clipped, fluid guitar lines lubricate an undisturbed flow. The track calmy introduces the Lophae’s intentions, to create a collective painterly conversation that draws the listener in.
Such subtlety in the detailing doesn’t mean that ‘Perfect Strangers’ is an ambient experience. It’s an album that wants you to be involved in different ways. On some tunes groove and movement are the drivers. The album’s title track shimmies between nimble cumbia and a shoulder rolling, easy going Cuban rhumba while Rapley’s sax and Sander’s guitar twirl around each other. That sultry Latin feel surfaces again on the late-night, club-closing smooch of Vincentina. Tom Herbert’s succulent basslines throw the shapes here, nudging at the smoky sax as it purrs and stretches soulfully.
In other places Sanders and band reach for the emotions more intensely. Dedication to David T was written in memory of a young friend who passed away and this sensitive ballad has an integrity and authenticity underpinning its sombre tones. Sander’s guitar and pedals conjure an ethereal atmosphere as the song unfolds, all peaceful shimmers, hovering strums and delicate zings in all the right places. It’s an immaculate piece of work.
For the recording of ‘Perfect Strangers’ Sanders talked about the importance of the four members of Lophae being in the studio space together, allowing them to “interact on a very detailed level” and “pick up on the micro movements that communicate intention”. This live approach allows the quartet to negotiate the fine balance between Sanders scored ideas and improvising on those themes. As a unit Lophae clearly thrive on such tension. Take a track like the brisk, skittering Greatfields where the pattern set by Sander’s slick, precise guitaring plus the stripped back rhythm gets unravelled carefully without losing the cut’s chirpy melodic thread.
Crafting melody, harmony and making each of the compositions “singable”, as Sanders says, is another promise that Lophae more than deliver on. That means with the direct funky numbers, the band don’t let the groove dominate, it’s kept integral to the tune’s destination. On Family Tree Ben Brown’s infectious percussive swing and Herbert’s Cymande-ish low-end lay the anchor for a sparkling sax/trumpet chorus from Rapley and guest Yelfris Valdés. Even Sanders textured guitar solo, all ripples and calming chords, focuses on the harmonious. Perhaps Negative Blues showcases locomotion Lophae-style at its most free-wheeling. There’s a Grant Green sharpness to Sander’s ticking riff here, with Brown’s surging drum rolls and Rapley’s rasping sax signalling that the band have reached that elusive rhythmic higher state.
Underlying all this subtly expressive music are the circumstances that Greg Sanders works alongside. Living with ME/CFS, a chronic illness which saps his energy levels for long periods, inevitably shaped the pace of ‘Perfect Strangers’ coming to be. Consequently the album is framed by the composer’s determination to have these tunes heard or as he puts it “if you have an idea for something that you can see existing in the world, ignoring it is sometimes impossible”.
It seems fitting then that the album’s final track, the beautifully understated Heddon Street ,brings ‘Perfect Strangers’ to a restful resolution. A slow, strolling ballad with a similar yearn to Mehldau and Redman in their more meditative moments, it underlines the sensitivity that Herbert, Brown and Rapley have for Sander’s material. ‘Perfect Strangers’ doesn’t aim to shout at you, its power lies in the intricacy and detailing, the vibrancy of the connection and empathic understanding between the players. There’s fulfilment here, you should get acquainted.
Get your copy of ‘Perfect Strangers’ by Lophae direct from the band HERE
