The natural phenomenon of the Canary Islands’ ‘sea of clouds’ is an exhilarating experience, a landscape which has proved endlessly inspirational for tenor saxophonist and composer Tori Freestone, and a special impetus for ‘El Mar de Nubes’, her third trio album with double bassist Dave Manington and drummer Tim Giles. Since 2014’s ‘In the Chop House’, and then 2016’s ‘El Barranco’, Freestone’s near-chordless trio has established itself as an especially kaleidoscopic, improvisatory unit. Ideas surge expressively from the trademark wellspring of her tenor, and there’s palpable equilibrium and discovery between all three players.
The lyrical basis of Tori’s searching title track - “Standing alone, above a sea of clouds...” - is heard as she threads melodic lines amongst its undulating bassand-percussion swell; and the split personality of ‘Hiding Jekyll’ is portrayed through overlapping rhythms and tempi. Other tracks include ‘Los Indianos’ (La Palma’s carnival), which recalls the years touring as a violinist with Cuban bands, its vitality described by the saxophonist as “a vibey, messed-up calypso groove”; and new-year thoughts of the past and future are explored in thre metric modulations of ‘La nochevieja’. Dave Manington’s impetuous ‘Hasta la vista’ adds boppish verve, and ‘El Camino’ creates freedom for imaginative saxophonic torrents.
