Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - Drummer Claude Cozens’ 2014 debut album Jubileejam became an instant favourite. The trio, including pianist Kyle Shepherd and bassist Benjamin Jephta, could hardly fail to play well, and the compositions give the idioms of Cape jazz an entirely fresh expression.
Despite that, hearing the trio live is something else entirely. The improvisation is so intense and empathetic that it stops your breath.
The new album, Claude Cozens Trio: LIVE at SBJF 2016, captures that intensity: An hour of music featuring nine compositions, from the African stomps and syncopations of Mr English to the celebratory carnival nostalgia of Jubileejam and the tricky, rhythmic patterning of 13 Corfu Avenue.
Cozens’ beats don’t just underpin his tunes – rather, the drummer weaves a textured fabric as his partners embroider on it. Roles shift as each instrumental voice takes the lead. Themes and patterns are swiftly and ruthlessly deconstructed, and then inventively reassembled; lyrical fragments keep the heart as well as the brain engaged. This is five-star music that is spicy as cinnamon and sweet as honey, but with a definite dash of lime – Gwen Ansell.
LIVE at SBJF 2016 drops on 24 March on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon, as well as on CD.
