Jenni Molloy Trio: Bach Reloaded

In between the Bach classics given a swing beat by Jacques Loussier and Uri Caine's more radical reworkings of those materials comes Leeds double-bassist Jenni Molloy. This is a live recording (for the country's only arts council-funded label) from Opera North's premises in Leeds, featuring Molloy with the fine Andy Sheppard-like saxophonist Stuart MacDonald and the drummer Chris Sykes. Molloy, a classical bassist ­originally, has taken elements of Bach pieces and given them new melodic ­storylines using jazz, tango, township-jive and understated funk. It's an ­attractive chemistry that simmers in an engaging way at the outset, with ­Molloy's ­solemn arco Prelude initially a solo recital, before it turns elegantly into an Astor Piazzolla tango. MacDonald's fluency on the soprano sax brings both a light, Lee Konitz-like poise and an almost trad- jazzy swing to Bird Invention (Bach's harmonic connections with bebop have often been highlighted), the In a Silent Way hook briefly surfaces in Bachsteps Over Miles, and the languid melodic ­development turning into a postbop tenor-sax groove works eloquently on Footprints in the Sarabande. Perhaps the melodic ideas and MacDonald's tonal strengths perhaps invite a little more spaciousness, insinuation and ambiguity, and fewer well-travelled grooves - and Sykes's drum sound might have been softened a little in the mix. But it's promising project from a leader who clearly thinks out of the box.