It gets harder by the year to impose limits on what “jazz” is: its borders are infinitely expanding. No worries so long as the music is good, but one can feel a sense of confusion in the jazz public. In particular what might be called “folk” (and there is another genre that has become a contentious area for definition) seems to be encroaching on jazz territory and creating “jazz/folk” – potentially very attractive.
In that sense trumpeter Laura Jurd is typical of her generation. Her current quintet adds Martin Green’s accordion and Ultan O’Brien’s viola to the more conventional rhythm team of Ruth Goller (bass) and Laura’s long-time associate Corrie Dick (drums). But it’s not as simple as that: Goller in particular brings bursts of wild rock to the party, free jazz bursts through the structured melody and Jurd’s background in classical composition is always there.
The concert consisted of pieces, mostly by Jurd herself, from her latest album, Rites and Revelations. Many of them began with folk influences; for example, the opening piece. This lasted for all of 20 minutes and went through numerous changes. To begin with we had a keening Scots-style air for Green, O’Brien and Goller. Eventually the trumpet began to improvise over a base of accordion and viola. A dramatic crescendo was followed by a slow diminuendo, then a brief interlude for drums took us into a lively uptempo jig. Then came the shock, a violent free bass solo that lasted several minutes. Finally, after a melodic solo from Jurd and Dick bringing out the cowbells and woodblocks, it came to an end, leaving us rather unsure of what we had just heard. Of course there’s nothing wrong with extended pieces in jazz – the equivalent of a suite in classical music – but it would be probably fair to describe the piece as “sporadically enjoyable”.
Jurd herself adds a pure tone and remarkable accuracy to a gift for building climaxes with surprising power, Corrie Dick is endlessly inventive, Green and O’Brien are fine players and Goller, when not tearing her bass apart, underpins the whole thing with precision.
As an example of Jurd’s ability to surprise, her version of what sounded like She Walked through the Fair, a nostalgic Irish piece, with only Goller and Dick, was beautifully poised, then after stating the melody, simply stopped!
Reviewed on 13 November 2025
