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THE JIGSAW "it simply doesn't get any better than this" - John Kelman.

"In a move that, on first glance, seems more aimed at garnering him a broader audience than anything else, British sax legend Stan Sulzmann is teamed with a dream team of American players including pianist Marc Copland, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Bill Stewart for his latest release, The Jigsaw. But if the grouping smells suspiciously of “session gig,” one listen to this outstanding disk is enough to dispel such skepticism. Truth be told, Copland has a relationship with Sulzmann that goes back over twenty-five years and while Grenadier and Stewart may be newcomers to Sulzmann's distinctive playing and writing style, you'd be hard pressed to tell. The Jigsaw may not win any awards for breaking new ground, but in the realm of post bop it simply doesn't get any better than this.

One of the most highly regarded musicians in Britain, Sulzmann has a résumé that includes work with Michael Brecker and Gil Evans, but perhaps his most enduring relationship has been with trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, whose title tune closes out the album. Sulzmann's style is, in some ways, the lyrical equivalent of Wheeler's own melancholy melodicism, and the two have teamed up numerous times, including '02's outstanding Ordesa, a trio featuring Sulzmann, Wheeler and guitarist John Parricelli. But The Jigsaw is the first record in a number of years to feature Sulzmann as leader and primary composer, and it paints a vivid picture of an artist whose solos tell compelling stories. “Figurine,” for example, is a dark ballad that would not feel completely out of place in the Ralph Towner songbook, with a sense of delicate drama that never becomes melodrama. Sulzmann, heard on soprano, delivers a solo that manages to swing in its own quiet way.

Copland continues to be a most intuitive accompanist. In the past couple of years he has recorded with artists including Gary Peacock, Greg Osby, Kenny Wheeler, John Abercrombie and Dave Liebman. In each case his own sensitive, impressionistic and at times abstract sensibilities seem to at once meld with those of the artists he is teamed with while, at the same time, asserting his own musical personality. On “Jack Stix,” which has just the slightest of Latin overtones in the theme, Copland asserts himself as a distinct personality who has evolved far beyond his original influences of Evans, Jarrett and Hancock.

Grenadier and Stewart make, quite simply, one of the best young rhythm sections around. Stewart, in particular, mines the same territory first carved out by Jack DeJohnette, but brings a sense of melody all too rarely heard from drummers.

The Jigsaw could have been just another session but instead, with fine writing from Sulzmann, Copland, Stewart and Wheeler, the interplay is all the more uncanny for the fact that this group only convened for two short days. Unquestionably one of the best post bop releases of the year, Sulzmann's The Jigsaw will hopefully hip North American audiences to what the British have known all along". John Kelman, Allboutjazz.com

"Despite his (entirely justified) high reputation among musicians and close observers of UK jazz, saxophonist/flautist Stan Sulzmann has made relatively few albums as a leader; The Jigsaw goes a considerable distance towards righting this wrong. Pianist Marc Copland and Sulzmann are longtime musical partners, and their easy rapport lies at the heart of a fluently interactive band, completed by a Rolls-Royce US rhythm section, lithe bassist Larry Grenadier and vigorous, punchy drummer Bill Stewart. All in all, though, this is Sulzmann's album, his elegant, alternately warbling and pleasantly rasping sound perfectly suited to his deceptively simple-sounding compositions, to those of his bandmates and Kenny Wheeler's typically plangent title-piece. Stewart and Grenadier push things along with just the right mix of power and delicacy, but it is the main soloists, Copland and Sulzmann, who render this unfussily virtuosic album compulsively listenable". Chris Parker, Jazz at Ronnie Scott's

"Tenor-soprano saxophonist Sulzmann may be one of Britain's best kept secrets, but the fact remains he's a truly outstanding player. And on this memorable album, made in New York last January, he's among peers; pianist Marc Copland, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Bill Stewart are as good as it gets. Moreover, Sulzmann's compositions - five of the eight pieces here are his; the remaining three are by Copland, Stewart and Kenny Wheeler - have a very savoury, distinctive character. Likewise, his lines are simultaneously logical and full of surprise. Most of all, the quartet goes about things with compelling relish and imagination. Sulzmann is in Whelan's next Sunday with Copland and the pianist's "working" trio of Drew Gress and Jochen Rückert. Not to be missed". RAY COMISKEY, THE IRISH TIMES, 17 SEPT Five Stars*****

ORDESA

“Brainfood Jazz”
'Don’t look to this trio for hummable tunes. Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Sulzmann on flute, tenor and soprano saxes, pitch themselves away fro the obvious as a matter of course. Accompanied only by Parricelli’s guitar, there is nothing here to force the tempi on, leaving the music (all originals bar one)to ebb and flow in mesmerising fashion. Does any other British player refresh the ear like Wheeler? His recordings are always stimulating, while his watery , blustery, romantic tone poses questions with no easy answers. No flashy tricks; this is brainfood Jazz'. Sholto Byrnes The Independent on Sunday 28/7/02

'No drum'n'no bass

What do you get when you mix a trumpeter, a saxophonist and a guitarist? A very nice record'

'Sulzmann, Parricelli and Wheeler
John Parricelli's Indigo, the opening track of Ordesa (Symbol) by the trio of Sulzmann, Parricelli and Wheeler, already feels like a classic. The piece slowly unfolds, with the composer's guitar ostinato setting the mood: it's a perfect sound, with just the right amount of reverberation. Trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and saxophonist Stan Sulzmann play the theme - clearly articulated, beautifully in tune, complex enough to hint at their musical abilities and simple enough to be memorable. You might yearn for a whole album like that.

There are some good tunes, such as Wheeler's Niceness (great title, absolutely sincere!) and Sulzmann's A Warm and Rocky Place, cleverly and carefully arranged for the drummerless, bassless trio, but this exposed, "chamber jazz" sound is tricky to sustain across an hour-long CD. Nevertheless, Ordesa has many great moments, and the players provide a master class for anyone learning jazz guitar, trumpet, saxophone or flute'.

Introducing the third way

While the cavernous concert halls of the Barbican and the South Bank are generally the London venues of choice for visiting American stars, some of the most rewarding music is to be found in intimate upstairs rooms such as the Vortex and the Spitz. Thursday night's concert by this new trio, which goes by the name of Ordesa, was no exception. No drums, no bass or keyboards, and pitifully little in the way of air-conditioning on a sweltering evening don't sound like the ingredients for a relaxing soirée. But into the stillness of the night came music that struck at the core of the listener, seeming to lift the curtain on a deeper wisdom, and to which silent awe was the only possible response.

Those familiar with Kenny Wheeler will know that this is no exaggeration. A slightly shambolic, mournful looking man, Wheeler could easily be cast as the janitor, disappointed by life, in an American film. When not playing, he stands motionless on stage. Not a shadow of a thought seems to pass over his impassive face. But when he lifts his flugelhorn or trumpet to his lips, the tumult in his mind is revealed. He is a man who asks questions, who knows life, and realises that the simple answers are almost certainly fatuous. The Wheeler sound is one of the most distinctive in the history of the jazz trumpet. A thin, overblown note is followed by a florid flurry, the high squeal by a long low note he rolls around his mouth like a chewy mint. Although his phrases are bordered, like blotting paper in ink, with romanticism, the comforting phrase is superseded by the querulous, a moment of tenderness by a scream of panic. He has his trademark tics, but is incapable of producing a hackneyed phrase. Like words from a prophet, every note counts.

This trio provides a perfect setting for Wheeler. He and Stan Sulzmann go back a long way, having been mainstays of the most rewarding strand of British jazz since the Sixties. The intuitive connection they have was evident in the way they phrased together, the intervals between the two horns twisting in trademark fourth and fifth intervals on the melody, slurring across the bar lines and forming a counter-rhythm to the metre. Sulzmann has a direct tone on tenor saxophone, accents spat out in rich dry chunks. On soprano sax, his sound seems too big to escape from such a fragile instrument when he's on full force. He, too, avoids cliché, always searching for new modes of expression.

Younger than the others, John Parricelli holds the trio together. His excellent compositions featured strongly in the concert, his guitar invariably introducing them and using a variety of textures to lay the ground on which the horns could tread. Two of his tunes stood out. "Ordesa", after which the group is named, is a valley in Spain. Wheeler painted dawn breaking over the crest of a hill, while Parricelli laid down a simple backing loop over which he plucked clear, singing lines. "Noah" emerged from dissonant chaos into a powerful statement of a timeless melody. When that melody was restated at the end it was staggered, with first Parricelli, then Sulzmann and then Wheeler following a couple of beats behind each other. It was quite astonishing.

When I first heard of this trio, I wondered if the lack of a traditional rhythm section would limit it. But after this uncompromising concert, I'd venture that this may be the strongest new band in Britain today. Sholto Byrnes (Independent) 20 August 2002

LIAM NOBLE GROUP

'But a shining light of the whole attractive enterprise is the presence of Stan Sulzmann, who seems to sound more personal and hauntingly moving than ever'. John Fordham, Jazz UK

'Some wonderful, hooting, almost country-blues music balances the busyness, and Sulzmann - superb on tenor sax throughout - has rarely played better'. John Fordham, The Guardian 7th February 2003