Preview: Back to the Future, The Lantern

In 2015 it seemed that, for saxophonist Julian Argüelles, his past had caught up with him big time. Julian first emerged as a rising star in the 80s as part of Loose Tubes, a 20-strong supergroup of hot young talent that reinvigorated UK jazz not least because of the influence of South African musicians exiled in London by their homeland’s Apartheid. Since then he’s pursued his own career as bandleader, sideman and composer establishing a solid reputation for carefully composed pieces that wear their structures lightly. All very forward thinking, but last year two things happened to take him back to those early years: firstly (to the delight of a generation of ageing jazz fans) Loose Tubes reformed for a limited set of sell-out gigs and, secondly, Let It Be Told – his own CD of big band arrangements of great South African tunes by Dudu Pukwana, Mongezi Feza and others – proved to be a major critical hit. The album would go on to win the 2016 All Party Parliamentary Jazz Award for best CD.

It would have been understandable if all this represented a move by an established musician to rest on his back catalogue but in Julian Argüelles’ case this was far from true. Right in the middle of all that retrospective hoo-haa he released Tetra, a sparklingly contemporary album of new music with a fresh quartet of top young musicians. The album’s music is a mix of folkish themes and disciplined improvisation, with a subtly Spanish underpinning that represents Julian’s Catalan mother. Its lively originality clearly marks the journey he’s taken since those early hectic days in Loose Tubes.

“The band was of its time – back then we were angry young men in our twenties. We did what we did – we weren’t concerned if it was a good idea. The South African music was a huge influence on everyone back then. It was so happy, lively and powerful, great to dance to! Obviously, reforming Loose Tubes it wasn’t the same – we were more mature, we’d all moved on. But playing the South African music with the big band that was still a great pleasure: I just have such love for that music.”

“I didn’t chose the members of Tetra because they were young. I wanted a working band in the UK – I’ve been working with a trio based in New York, which obviously presented problems and I wanted a band that could work together and develop organically. I’d played with Kit (Downs, piano) and James (Maddren, drums) in another band, and they introduced me to Sam (Lasserson, bass). As soon as we started playing together it felt so comfortable and I knew these guys were really special.”

“After all this time composition is now almost an equal thing to playing for me and I really enjoy it. I’ve had to teach myself  – our generation generally didn’t go to college unlike these younger musicians who all have degrees. They will have had lessons in composition and arrangement but we just had to work it out!”

“In music you do have to move on. The history of jazz has been marked by people looking for something different, something unique. People have tried fusions or exploring geographical roots – I suppose my Spanish influences are like that – but ultimately it’s the live experience that is crucial because it adds the feelings, the personality, not just musical ideas. Records are great but the live experience can be better.”

You can judge for yourself when Julian Argüelles brings Tetra to The Lantern on Sunday June 12.

For sample tracks from Tetra check Julian’s website

Hear a live performance of Let It Be Told from the Cheltenham Jazz Festival.