Steve Barry piano & composer

Will Vinson alto & soprano sax

Thomas Botting bass

Eric Harland drums & cymbals

Recorded June 7, 2022 by Richard Belkner at Free Energy Device

Mastered by Nate Wood

Cover Design by Jamie Breiwick @ B Side Graphics

All compositions by ⓒ Steve Barry

Pianist Steve Barry has assembled a formidable band for In The Waves, recruiting high profile US drummer Eric Harland, UK/US saxophonist Will Vinson (currently residing in Sydney), and his long time colleague, bassist Thomas Botting. The music is unapologetically contemporary and generally complex in nature, featuring odd time signatures, many angular melodies, and plenty of spiky dissonances. Often, these elements are contained within pieces that also have catchy rhythms or bass lines that help to draw the listener in, and for the most part they’re substantial in length, tending to run for around eight to ten minutes. The majority of the material is based on ideas relating to the natural world, whilst a couple are the result of artistic, compositional strategies. The album is beautifully recorded, and as expected the playing is at a very high level, everyone acquitting themselves admirably, though Harland has a particularly strong presence.

The opening track Lithospheric, is a fairly bright straight eighths piece which starts with an appealing, asymmetric rhythmic figure from the piano before the rhythm section and then Vinson’s alto join in. This figure is a central component of the composition, but the bulk of the melodic material which follows is built around one simple motif which is cleverly carried through a number of contrasting harmonic and rhythmic changes, all resulting in an exciting and fresh sounding contemporary tune. Vinson’s solo is first, and his sound is pure, his approach serpentine. It’s a substantial outing, full of life and brimming with ideas, and the band responds accordingly, particularly Harland. It’s heady stuff, and the saxophonist winds things up with beautifully timed references to the main motif of the piece before the band returns to the initial rhythmic figure of the piece. Barry then begins his improvisation, creating a well-structured statement with a strong narrative arc that builds up to some dramatic rhythms and chordal textures at its end, the rhythm section responding (as the best do), in ways that help mark out the piano solo as quite a different chapter within the performance. The thematic material is then revisited (albeit with a post improvisation sensibility), and once the group lands back on the initial rhythmic figure, it becomes a vamp for a drum solo from Harland. Here he demonstrates his prowess, building up to some serious ferocity before the band executes the final phrase of the piece and a great performance comes to a close.     

Track three, On Dirt & Alchemy is a buoyant swing tune, again beginning with a piano figure, this time built from some dissonant chords and like in the opening piece, becoming a kind of hook, particularly when the band joins in (this also serves as a vehicle for responses from Harland throughout). The main thematic section follows, and once more it’s derived from a concise motif, this time accompanied by a sequence of slow moving, descending harmonies before the “hook” returns. This figure is then subjected to a number of variations, and leads into a hard swinging third section which utilises the motif from the first, again showing more resourceful composing from Barry. After the varied hook section and the figure itself is repeated, the band breaks into swing again for Vinson’s alto solo, Barry laying out for the first couple of rounds. Even though the form has the broken-up rhythm of the hook section half-way through, the forward motion of the bass and drums is unstoppable here, and once more Harland is restless and pro-active. Not surprisingly, Barry’s solo immediately takes off with this exciting foundation beneath him, and channelling some McCoy Tyner, he constructs a great, dynamic improvisation. It all winds down quite quickly, and is followed by an interlude which has both a subdued section and an angular “stop-start” episode that eventually leads back to a recapitulation of the thematic material. The piece finishes with Harland unleashing over the hook section, the group finally coming together at the end to play a short coda. This is very much uncompromising, contemporary jazz.    

Half Moon Lights is track four and an altogether different kind of tune. It’s a slow, meditative 3/4 piece which starts very sparsely with just the rhythm section and some nice reflective piano sounds from the leader. The melody (played by the alto) and the underlying harmonies are somewhat reminiscent of Wayne Shorter’s 60’s ballad writing, and create an unhurried, moody atmosphere throughout the theme, which is relatively short. Barry’s solo emerges quite unobtrusively from this and it’s a thoughtful and restrained effort, containing quite a bit of high register work and some sixteenth note passages. The rhythm section however, is a little pro-active and Vinson picks up on this, ramping things up a notch, and as a result the sax solo section is more animated. The thematic section is then revisited, Barry taking the first section, Vinson, the remainder, and here the pianist contributes many fast obligato lines to the accompaniment before the piece wraps up with a couple of ensemble phrases. Throughout the tune, Harland is his usual classy self, and Botting finds a perfect balance of figures which provide both a deep bottom end and a great deal of interest and colour.

As is clear, the musicianship on this album is of the highest quality, and the improvisations contain all that you would hope for, but the angular and rhythmically staggered elements of many of the compositions (for this reviewer at least) create a certain inaccessibility, notwithstanding the “accessible” features mentioned earlier. Barry shows himself to be an inventive and imaginative composer, but perhaps the pieces would have had more impact if a little more concision was applied. That said, In The Waves is an impressive achievement, not least due to the fact that this challenging music was played with such authority in only one day in the studio.

Tim Bruer

March 2023

High level improvised solos

Beautifully recorded

Great, interactive rhythm section playing featuring Eric Harland

Varied moods and colours

State of the art composing