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Mar 22, 2021 Web Exclusive By Haydon Spenceley

Until 2018, pianist Neil Cowley ruled the UK contemporary jazz trio roost with his eponymous trio. Having also developed a stellar reputation as a sideman of note for a number of pop musicians of high standing, including Adele, with Hall of Mirrors, Cowley presents a highly accomplished debut solo album.

In making this record, Cowley notes that he fell back in love with the piano and, in spite of the fact that the instrument is used in a dizzying array of ways on the album, it is clear to hear a composer and artist reinvigorated by a return to his first musical love.

If you have read this far in the review and are afraid of an invasion of jazz into Under the Radar’s realm, fear not. This is thoroughly modern, contemporary classical music. The opener begins with the lilting and mournful “Prayer,” certainly a thing of true beauty as Neil explores the almost spiritual change in the atmosphere music can bring about. You will be hooked from then on. “Circulation” brings loops and a slow-burning groove, whilst “Souls of the S-Bahn” recalls the album’s genesis from a trip to Berlin with a real sense of yearning and sorrow as synths and pianos compete in a somewhat suffocating passage. Neil Cowley has made a habit of making important albums throughout his career and Hall of Mirrors is certainly no exception. (www.neilcowleymusic.com)

Author rating: 8/10