BleySchool: Where? is the second album of British master pianist Pat Thomas’ imaginative spin on the works of legendary pianist Paul Bley, following BleySchool (577, 2019). Thomas leads a trio with double bass player Dominic Lash and drummer Tony Orrell that brings a seminal and blissful part of jazz legacy without sacrificing tradition or inventiveness. The album was recorded at London’s Cafe OTO in June 2022.
Thomas pays homage to the tunes associated with Bley as well as for his free improvisational approach, encompassing Bley’s Latin-inspired grooves and his deceptively simple yet clever melodic sensibility. The name of the trio is a homage to the Australian children’s TV series Play School that Thomas, Kash and Orrell grew up with. This TV series inspired BleySchool’s childlike experimentation that blends perfectly with Bley’s approach to music.
Thomas, Lash and Orrell are faithful to Bley’s spirit, always suggesting a fresh and timeless approach, without repeating themselves and open to all possibilities. The trio deconstructs and reconstructs joyfully Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II iconic «All The Things You Are», constantly alternating between a catchy swing and a free abstraction of the theme. Annette Peacock’s «Gesture Without Plot» is matched with Carla Bley’s «Syndrome» and both pieces highlight the inquisitive and uncompromising side of BleySchool, first stripping these pieces to their essential melodic outlines and then reimagining them as free improvisations. Isham Jones and Marty Symes’ standard «There is no greater love» is read as a tune based on a luscious groove.
The centerpiece of BleySchool: Where? is a 16-minute interpretation of Carla Bley’s enigmatic «Ida Lupino», that was also covered on BleySchool. The new version begins as an otherworldly reading that employs experimental, extended techniques – inside the piano, bowing and percussive – all intensify the mystery of this piece, and slowly and patiently investigate the minimalist melodic veins of this piece. Carla Bley’s «King Korn» solidifies this inquisitive approach and reconstructs the rhythmic pattern of this piece as a totally free, stormy one.
Thomas, Lash and Orrell feel at home with the short reading of Thelonious Monk’s immortal «Monk’s Mood» and their uplifting joy is captured beautifully in this recording. The album is closed with the original, playful piece «Where?», credited to the trio, and attempting to balance between the cerebral approach of Bley and the catchy, angular grooves of Monk.
Eyal Hareuveni
Pat Thomas (piano), Dominic Lash (double bass), Tony Orrell (drums)
