Artists have emerged from the draught of live work and are understandably incredibly eager to jump into venue-shaped oases with audiences once more. With the hopeful return of live performances this year, we are surely in for a surge of live albums over the next while. And making their debut with a live recording, The Vesuvius Big Band has captured an absolutely riveting snapshot of venturesome, volatile jazz on Live At Open Waters Festival.
Lead by Halifax-based saxophonist James Shaw, The Vesuvius Big Band is a fifteen-piece ensemble that, as the name suggests, harnesses an eruptive take on big band jazz. And there is absolutely an elemental quality to the work on display here befitting the volcanic namesake. Dynamic and wild, the songs leap from gentle night air to cacophonies of free-form wilderness.
A distinctly urban noir atmosphere swathes the affair, moving from Ryo Fukui jazz clubs to the chaotic and raw alleys of Darcy James Argue, and even ascending paved peaks that resemble Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra’s earlier work in a different formation. This album is a visceral, violent street chase that speeds through puddles of rainwater, scotch, and blood. Exemplified on “Where or When,” the group has a penchant for menace in the most enthralling of ways.
The ambiance of Live At Open Waters Festival leans towards the darker side of the spectrum, and it is a space that Vesuvius plays beautifully in. From the very beginning, with opener “Witch Hunt,” the extent of Vesuvius’ variety is vividly evident. Amidst the tension and trepidation that the group builds up, flares of colour pop off to fill the darkened world with intense fireworks; it’s a feat pulled off masterfully between the brass, the rhythm, and the guitar. With a live recording that comes across the ears as so very tight and intimate, the space that Vesuvius manifests has such depth to it.
A stand-out feature within the context of Vesuvius’ big band sound is how the individual voices conveyed across the tracks speak such volumes. Narrative is very keenly felt in the galloping tick of the drums, the subtle plucking of the hazy guitar, the spiraling ascension and descent along the upright bass’ neck. But most especially is bandleader James Shaw’s voice articulated through his sax. Wily and unpredictable, it chatters and howls and croons and squeals its thoughts away at you, pointedly on “Green Dolphin Street,” perhaps the most evocatively adventurous of all that Vesuvius offers here. It contains both the most focussed thoughts and the most resounding chaos and feels as though it encapsulates the core of the concert.
But to speak only of the wild and untamed things that Vesuvius conjures would be a disservice. Quite possibly the loveliest track across Live At Open Waters Festival is by far the tamest. “Apple Seed” is an understated and enchanting piece that layers beautiful swells from the winds atop a tender piano ballad. With keys that sound like moonlight and hope, the track name and the mood crafted both bring the band’s concept back into that tangible place of nature for a dreamy while.
James Shaw’s vision is described as “kaleidoscopic” in the band’s statement on the album, and that is an understatement. There is a plethora of worlds and colours swirling in the moody expanse that The Vesuvius Big Band explores on Live At Open Waters Festival. This intrepid group dive into strange depths and scale lofty skyscrapers to find the sound distinct to Vesuvius, but what truly wows is how tightly they work these motley muses to make a musical myriad so gestalt.