I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the Luke Howard Trio in a small jazz club twice (at Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club). There’s nothing quite like the intimacy and atmosphere of watching a trio interact and immerse themselves in their music. There’s something incredibly unique about the music of Luke Howard – he doesn’t fit a standard jazz mould. He experiments. He wants to bring the listener on a journey. He wants to blur the lines of what you think you’re listening to.
I first heard Luke Howard when someone played ‘Cibi’ at a soundcheck for Do Lectures Australia in 2013. I was immediately captivated. I’ll definitely have to circle back to a deeper discussion of this album, but if you want to know what the Luke Howard Trio can create, ‘Cibi’ is an excellent place to start. It’s a beautiful, bright, and emotional piece of music.
This album however, represents a unique moment. I was getting back into building my CD collection and listening to heaps of Spotify as a way to do so. Being COVID, there was lots of time to sit back, listen, and contemplate. I’d purchased a pretty cheap turntable (Audio-Technica LP60) as a way to enjoy my Dad’s old records. But that changed when ‘Antoinette Boulevard’ popped up in my feeds. I immediately recognised it was the Luke Howard Trio and of course started listening to the rest of the album.
Once there are at least 3 tracks I like, I’m pretty keen to get a copy of the album. As I started searching, I realised that the only version of the album was available on LP record. I was keen on getting everything on CD, but the unique nature of the LP and the limited run helped convince me to get a copy. And so glad I did, as it represents the first LP I’ve bought. It’s unusual in that it’s a ‘clear’ LP, not the solid black of most records. So when it plays, the graphic of the AT-LP60 is visible as it spins, which is kinda cool. The little added note from ‘Tom’ at Hobbledehoy Records was a lovely personal touch (see above).
So, how is The Sanctuary (2021)? Track 5 probably sums it up – ‘Dark and moody’. Though there’s a lovely melodic and rhythmic feeling throughout the whole album, which is a defining style of Luke Howard. It feels contemplative, as though the music is conjuring up memories. Tracks build, ebb and flow. It actually reminds me of how the track that led me to the album, ‘Antoinette Boulevard’, is just a piece in the puzzle of how the whole album moves through its different moods. I think there are only a few artists who can pull you in and make you listen to a whole album; Luke Howard Trio is definitely one of them.
Perhaps it’s the deliberate simplicity of the way Luke Howard plays the piano, or how the double-bass (Jonathan Zion) punches the air alongside the subtle and atmospheric sounds of the drums (Daniel Farrugia), but the music evokes something more than your traditional jazz trio – at times it’s like a soundtrack to a movie that’s yet to be made. A tragic romance, an adventure, a story of a lifetime. The Sanctuary brings all these sentiments to life. It’s not your ‘normal’ kind of jazz, which is why it might appeal to those looking for something that evokes a strong sense of atmosphere and story. The album takes us on a journey, pulling us in, enticing us to listen further.
