Julian Arguelles, Larry Grenadier & Jorge Rossy - Echo Fields [CD]

Cat. no: ESC26
Format: CD
Barcode: 0767062070357
Release Date: 27 Mar 2026
Genre: Jazz

Multi-award-winning saxophonist/composer Julian Arguelles approaches each new project with nothing to prove, his international reputation already documented through a formidable discography. Yet there's still an appeal in the classic album format: a band of players, time booked in the studio, a set of compositions, all combining to create an artistic palette with clearly defined boundaries. With Echo Fields Julian returns to a line-up that offers the simplest soundscape but the richest possibilities for deep improvisation - the chordless trio. The restrictions paradoxically act as a spur to creativity, and the choice of players reveals the breadth of Julian's ambition. Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums both stand in the top tier of international artists with a matchless ability to capture each nuance of the compositions and develop them into genuine spontaneous group improvisation. Echo Fields is the sound of three masters at work, rich in melody, full of rhythmic vitality, with a real sense of urgency and of music that just has to be played.

Each tune begins with a strongly melodic compositional motif that the trio develop spontaneously, moving effortlessly between tightly written passages and pure in-the-moment improvisation. 'Lek-Lok' was written partly as an elegy for Scottish pianist Brian Kellock but it's an elegy packed with an infectious joy, soprano sax dancing light-footed over a calypso-inflected groove. The caribbean lilt continues into the albums' second elegy, 'Leap Year Marvel' for drummer Martin France, with Larry Grenadier taking a singing bass solo. Other tracks include the surprise inclusion of 'Nimrod' - yes, it is the Elgar tune, but filtered through Julian and company's unmistakeable sensibility.

Ranging across the whole landscape of the legacy, full of thrilling playing and joyous spontaneity, Echo Fields is a deeply satisfying listen on every level. "I'm feeling a certain sentimentality and nostalgia for where I began - an element of thinking about the past and people who are no longer with us." says Julian, but the mood of the album is always joyous, from the quietest moment to the most uproarious.

Tracks: Lek- Lock / Leap Year Marvel / Blues For Dudu / Piece For Jess / Nimrod / Such Sweet Madness / The Invisible Thread / The Canary's Song / Beating About The Bush