uroboro

The poet and jazz musician Keith Jafrate is a prolific creator: he has books to his name going back to the 1980s (one that often gets a mention is Songs for Eurydice from 2004). He has also created and appeared on numerous albums. In recent years, he’s been part of Matt Webster’s Signia Alpha, alongside poet Nick Toczek.

Uroboro is Italian for Ouroboros, the Greek symbol that depicts a snake devouring its own tail. The band started life as a trio, brought together by Jafrate to play his own compositions, comprising of himself plus Anton and Johnny Hunter, who he met through the Noise Upstairs, a monthly improvisation event held at the Golden Lion in Todmorden. As time went on, it expanded into the larger collective enterprise we see here. the bass speaks is the second album they’ve made to be released by Discus Music (you can buy them both together as a bundle).

the bass speaks started life as a series of poems, written in response to a humorous suggestion by Uroboro’s bass player, John Pope. As Jafrate says, he ‘suggested … that i should write a pamphlet entitled how to write a bassline, because he liked playing the basslines i’d written. i thought that was a lovely thing to say, even though it was tongue-in-cheek, and we all laughed about it and moved on. but the idea stuck in my mind, and i began writing poems that addressed it, though not in any practical way…..’
The initial idea might’ve been tongue-in-cheek, but the end result was a sequence of thirty-seven serious – though playful – poems entitled the bass speaks or how to write a bassline. It led to Jafrate composing a suite incorporating four of the poems (although the album comes with a copy of the whole sequence – it’s an album and a poetry book in one). As he says in his notes on the album: ‘all the poems are music. i see no separation between the two media, never have.’ And indeed, immersing yourself in the poetry and the music, it’s hard even to tell where the two end and the world itself begins: he talks, for example, of ‘the green oak’s improv’, trees reaching for the light the way an improvising musician reaches for the next thing to do. Throughout both the poems and the music, you get the feeling that everything is interconnected and may indeed be only one thing: I could say that the words and the music move through time as a river flows to the sea, but to connect them with a simile – or metaphor, for that matter – feels inadequate (rivers are frequently referenced in these poems). As he says, in one of the poems, ‘I sound the roar of presence’. And the ‘roar of presence’ is everything. We live in ‘the wide land of the embodied song’, in which ‘ the shape of melody’ and ‘the melody of shape’ are one and the same thing. And as for how we fit into it all, as he says: ‘i dreamt my body was itself a dream’ (an idea which connects, in a way, with the name of the band). His vision, however is not passive. As he says:

we will make change
as certain as the slender ready yellow-dipped yellow-tipped
missiles of the daffodil will burst’
[poem 35]

Reading that, and not for the first or only time while reading the sequence, I found myself thinking of Dylan Thomas. (If only he’d been a jazz musician. He did inspire an album by the Stan Tracey Quartet, but that’s another story). And on the subject of resonances with other artists, you could say Jafrate looks to inner space the way Sun Ra looked to outer space. To borrow a line from Sun Ra, space, in both cases, is the place.

The music itself lives up to the promise of the poetry. Jafrate’s compositions, as performed by Uroboro, pull off the trick of sounding mellow and serious at the same time (it might help explain what I mean when I say Silvie Rose’s vocals in the third track immediate set me thinking of the Vienna Art Orchestra. Elsewhere there are echoes of Bjork). The tracks tend to be long – they’re all over ten minutes – as this is music that takes time to grow and develop in a way that’s always absorbing. You could use it merely as a soundtrack for the coming summer if you want, but, to do it justice, you’ll also want to immerse yourself in it, free of distractions.

Interestingly, the bass itself isn’t given the sort of prominence in the music the album title might lead one to expect. As Jafrate says, ‘only after we’d finished recording did it occur to me that at no point in the compositions had i left space specifically for a bass solo! but the suite is not about the bass in that sense, instead it tries to show how the bass … leads not by being in the foreground but by making a path for the whole ensemble to follow, by making a craft for the whole ensemble to sail in.’ Nevertheless, John Pope gets to play some great duet passages with Sylvie Rose’s flute and Faith Brackenbury’s violin. The bass plays a prominent role, too, at the beginning of track 5, ‘I can do no wrong’, which builds up into an absorbing, slow-moving counterpoint involving voices, sax and arco bass with the piano weaving figures in and out of the legato lines (the slow release, contrapuntal climax is a common strategy on this album and it works every time).

the bass speaks is an enchanting album. It’s not only well worth a listen, it’s also well worth buying as, as I said, it comes with the poetry that led to its making. In addition, it comes with the mandala-like images created by Luca Jafrate that go so well with the poems used on the album. – Dominic Rivron, INTERNATIONAL TIMES https://internationaltimes.it/sounding-the-roar-of-presence/

The time has come again for poet / saxophonist / composer Keith Jafrate to unleash the many-headed and never-ending musical creature that is Uroboro and this time, along with Laura Cole, John Pope and the Hunter Brothers, we have Faith Brackenbury and Sylvie Rose adding violin, flute and vocals which gives a very different feel to 2023’s A Story Like Fire.

The album is again spread over two discs and the running time is a little under two hours. Recording took place at the Old Cowshed in Riddlesden and somehow they managed to accomplish everything here in three days, which considering the many moods and undulating, meandering freedom, is miraculous.

Once again Keith’s thoughtful and considered voice gently rambles across the opening as the players warm up and introduce themselves. His words are the backbone of the album, but the gathered sounds from the players flow around the words like water spilled across a tile floor, with the piano rippling and the guitar scattering. The sounds echo and shimmer, setting off chain reactions as the players receive and interpret. Keith’s sax flutters frantically, translating the atmosphere as if words are only capable of so much. It is expressive and the interplay with Anton Hunter‘s guitar is fascinating, the tones similar.

There are different gatherings depending on what the song needs as the wallowing, reverby guitar pairs with understated piano to lead a new adventure. It feels as though everything is possible and when Sylvie’s pure yet edgy voice appears, it is the counterpoint to Keith’s mellower tones. There is a subdued wildness to her delivery and as we wait for the music to gather steam, undulating piano and sax gently guide. Johnny Hunter‘s drums can add a swagger when needed; there is a purpose to the rhythm here, with the guitar and piano more forceful, each artist seeming to pick the perfect moment to let loose and add extra texture. with even Sylvie’s voice starting to stretch the bounds.

The length of the pieces allows this unfolding to take place at a natural pace with nothing under ten minutes and although the overall feel is pastoral, there are still some sharp edges exposed, warning the listener to be careful. Towards the end of the first disc, romantic piano links with cavorting bass and the heights they reach for are dizzying as Keith’s voice roams far and wide, watching the clouds, its jazzy freedom matched by the support of the players. John’s bass seems to weave in and out of all this, sprinkling a little dust as it goes and leading the surreptitious progress towards the finale.

The second disc has the added bonus of Faith Brackenbury on voice and violin, and the pairing of Faith and Sylvie is a diaphanous delight. Subtitled ‘The Bass Speaks”, John’s bass is more prominent here, deep and earthy, a natural sound that underpins everything. Keith’s delivery is spoken in this section, but he injects much drama to the words and it makes an even greater counterpoint to Sylvie and Faith’s dreamlike ululations. The players innately understand the fleeting nature of the sounds and offer their parts accordingly, with Faith’s violin an extra treat.

The interplay is ever-evolving and the typewriter rhythm that Anton sets up creates a certain hypnotic tension to which the others react and are then drawn down unfamiliar paths. These fresh opportunities are opened up for one section and then are reset for the next piece, and a whole other mood engaged. Sylvie’s flute lends a more sylvan setting, leading John’s bass to a woodland glen. The pretty but ancient tone in league with Faith’s violin spreads a blanket out for our comfort as they scatter petals in the river and watch their gradual progress downstream.

We have absolutely no idea what to expect as each new section starts, so it is best to just immerse yourself and trust to their natural flow. Words are repeated as the backdrop changes with the sounds constantly refracting, pushing and caressing while the violin and bass interact. The bass tone warms the heart and soars like a heavy seabird just above the waves, the ease with which it manoeuvres belying its size. Towards the end, when everyone is involved, there is a feeling of subtle joy and as Keith repeatedly intones “I can do no harm, I can bear no grudge”, the group settles back comfortably completing one another’s sentences until a natural conclusion arrives.

Once again, Uroboro set new standards on what we can expect from an improv gathering which feels more like a series of extended conversations between good friends. It is a joy to be part of and thoroughly recommended. – Mr Olivetti, FREQ https://freq.org.uk/reviews/uroboro-the-bass-speaks/

A couple of years ago Discus released an album called Made From A Broken Star by Army of Briars. At the time it was so startling different from anything else the label had in its catalogue I couldn’t leave it alone. The core of Army of Briars consists of Tim Cole, guitar and cello, Julie Cole, vocals like wind and earth, Martin Archer being his multi-instrumental self (lightly touched with restraint) and crucially Martin Pyne’s percussion; all this, built around the words of the poet Keith Jafrate. At the time, the closest I could get to Made From A Broken Star was the Incredible String Band’s classic, Wee Tam And The Big Huge. However, MFABS has become a mover and shaker for me. It remains a lodestone I’ve kept close. Here we are a few years on: Uroboro’s The Bass Speaks, a totally different band except… it’s Keith Jafrate’s words and music that still drives events. Coming at Uroboro in 2025 it’s quite difficult for me to get past AoB’s Julie Cole’s distinctly singular voice, compared to the ethereal vocals of Sylvie Rose and Faith Brackenbury… fact is, Uroboro’s The Bass Speaks is a fascinating project in its own right. Keith Jafrate’s has taken his metaphysical poetry into a new grounding. It’s a double album; and for me the game changer is clearly disk one, Five Songs. It’s concentrated around Keith Jafrate’s own grainy vocals, the music measured out by Laura Cole, piano, fabulous blistered electric guitar via Anton Hunter, plus brother Johnny’s drums and Jafrate’s own wide stretch of reeds. The first fifteen minutes of I have learnt the grammar of blue/forget all that is the silver stuff of wonderment. I’d also cite song number 5, Give space to despair, a kind of permission to go Low (Bowie?), then lower, in the sense of dissecting personal feelings… surrounding this sparse vocal in transformative music. There’s a wow element, it swings into a modern miracle of Jafrate’s horn taking on Tony Scott territory. Internalising sorrow, it suddenly breaks through into a beautiful recital, aided and abetted by Laura Cole, double Hunters and John Pope’s bass. I wish Keith Jafrate and I lived in the same part of the country; hey, each to their own. Good luck to Uroboro, another fine ‘find’ – any road plans? – Steve Day, May 2025

There’s soulful and spiritual jazz on the second album by Uroboro, plus poetry from saxophonist Keith Jafrate, featuring a cast drawn from the finest Discus Music musicians. Improvised from Jafrate’s initial compositions, the album has a pleasingly organic feel. You get the complete poem-series from which the lyrics were extracted, as a PDF with the download package, and in all formats you get Luca Jafrate’s images created especially for this album. Three stars. – Kevin Whitlock, JAZZWISE

Keith Jafrate, saxophonist (with Army Of Briars, Some Some Unicorn, Orfeo 5…), poet & vocalist, is the leading hand in UROBORO and The Bass Speaks (DISCUS 193, 2xCD). Surrounded by Faith Brackenbury – v & voc, Laura Cole – p, Anton Hunter – g & el, Johnny Hunter – dr, John Pope – b and Sylvie Rose – fl & voc, he takes you into the stream of consciousness of a wandering bard as a ghostly guide. Under a night sky where the stars bloom, with rose immersed in birdsong, echoes and wind. Desperately roaming through the suburbs of forgetfulness, and out again to lark and moor, as hollow men, blown through by the wordless manifesto of spring. With the bass as an ‘I’ whispering, speaking through Jafrate, singing through Sylvie & Faith, breathed through by flora, fauna and sound, unbounded, decelerated and weightless in Walt Whitman’s spirit. I lead only in the shape / of melody / in the melody of shape / at the very edge / of ourselves. Jazz & nature-mystical poetry as a latecomer from “Electric Eden”. [BA 128 rbd] – Rigobert Dittmann, BAD ALCHEMY

Il y flotte comme une réminiscence lointaine d’Henry Cow, comme un lent tourbillon elliptique (comme lorsque la courroie de ma vieille platine Dual fatigue), comme une fumée de fond de cave quand la musique a cessé et qu’il n’en reste que l’écho dans les murs de brique, comme une méditation de l’aube, de celles qu’on ne voit pas venir mais qui vous prennent tout entier: «The bass speaks», sélection de poèmes chantés de (et le plus souvent mis en musique par) Keith Jafrate, naît de la suggestion, ironique, du bassiste John Pope, séduit pas les lignes de basse que le compositeur lui propose, de rédiger un livret sur la façon de les écrire. Une série de 37 poèmes en découle (inclue dans l’art work), loin d’un mode d’emploi de l’instrument mais support des cinq morceaux du disque – dont la suite, qui donne son titre à l’album, établit la basse comme un pilier de la musique d’Uroboro, un support souvent au second plan (pas de solo démonstratif à en attendre ici) qui balise le chemin qu’empruntent les autres musiciens et voix. Cool. – Auguste, PROG CENSOR

Tracing Keith Jafrate’s artistic career is a daring, if not suicidal, undertaking. Where was he born? What are his influences? Does he know the recipe for lacquemants (a Liège sweet specialty)? All these questions remain unanswered. Wikipedia? No idea. A personal website? No one seems to have ever considered it. But by gathering information here and there online, we can still find some traces of this composer/saxophonist/poet in the brief history of improvised music. For example, he was involved in the short-lived projects The Argot Notes (late 1990s) and Wolf Scares (fifteen years later). Even more remarkably, he co-founded Orfeo 5 with electro musician Shaun Blezard, a group that included Matthew Bourne and poet Dianne Darby. The trail will become clearer starting November 7, 2023. That date coincides with the release of the first album by the variable group Uroboro (the snake that bites its own tail and symbolizes eternity), whose fate lies in his hands. “A Story Fire” (already released by Discus) is also a richly detailed double CD. Depending on the needs, the group transforms into a quartet or a larger formation, with a loyal core that we find on “The Bass Speaks”: Laura Cole on piano, Anton Hunter on guitar and effects, Johnny Hunter on drums, and John Pope on bass. Now joined by the violin and flute of Faith Brackenbury and Sylvie Rose, who also provide the deliberately raw vocals. The creation of this album (and its title) stemmed from a request from John Pope to create a booklet featuring the bass lines written for him. From there, this project evolved, divided into two distinct chapters. The first CD, “Five Songs,” contains four long “songs,” each lasting over ten minutes. The second CD, “The Bass Speaks,” is a long story in which vocals and improvisations are interwoven. While it’s difficult to categorize this music (jazz, stripped-down folk, borderless rock…), “The Bass Speaks” is undoubtedly a spiritual, hypnotic, and engaged work that leaves no one unmoved. – Yves “JB” Tassin, JAZZ’HALO

On this album, THE BASS SPEAKS, composer, creator, saxophonist, and poet Keith JAFRATE, leads the vocals and saxophones. He is surrounded by top-level musicians, regulars at Discus Music: Faith BRACKENBURY (vocals and violin), Laura COLE (piano), Anton HUNTER (guitar and electronics), Johnny HUNTER (drums), John POPE (bass), and Sylvie ROSE (vocals and flute). Virtuoso guests include Fay JAFRATE, Luca JAFRATE, Dianne DARBY, Persephone JAFRATE, Jimmy GREEN, Matt BOURNE, Lucy WILLIAMS, Martin ARCHER, Katarina HEU, Rupert LOYDELL, as well as Tamlin COOK and Neil MUNRO. The cover, with a 28-page booklet by Keith JAFRATE, unfolds into three sections, explaining the genesis of UROBORO’s second CD on Discus. The images are mandalas created by Luca JAFRATE, which interweave with the poems used on the album. Images by Luca JAFRATE. Photographs by the band, Jimmy GREEN, Anton HUNTER, Keith JAFRATE, and Sylvie ROSE. Photography by Turbine, Keith JAFRATE.

Album recorded from September 17 to 19, 2024, at the Old Cowshed, Riddlesden, West Yorkshire; Production and mastering by Jimmy GREEN; the fourth track, “Give Space To Despair 13:05,” by Laura COLE and Keith JAFRATE. The other compositions are by Keith JAFRATE.

FIVE SONS: The first CD is a 52:18 fresco featuring four beautiful pieces, the first of which, I Have Learnt The Grammar Of Blue / Forget All That (15:48), illustrates the continuation of the other three, exploring fabulous trill and note-stud techniques in contemporary jazz, electronic jazz, experimental music, improvisation, and poetry. A composition that successfully expands the vast horizons of jazz, blues, and noise. The omnipresent languid saxophone seeks, through its extraordinary style, to surpass itself on all fronts, its technique exploring new modes of expression, giving rise to new sounds and new timbres through the dynamics of his Coltrane-esque instrument. Johnny Hunter’s brush beats follow the slow, supple, and fluid tempo. The electronics kick in, the bass speaks discreetly.

How do you write a bass line? Bathed in a melting pot of poetry and music because together, they merge. “It Is Full Of Birdsong” (12:16) features refined, high-pitched notes played on the piano emerging from the lights emanating from Laura Cole’s dexterous fingers in a swirling dance of refined percussion, an elongated vocal, brushes caressing the nuances of subtle tones escaping from Keith Jafrate’s free and sovereign saxophone. “As In An Unpicking Of Time’s Garment” (11:29) features incandescent vocals reminiscent of Barbara Gaskin and Amanda Parsons of Hatfield and the North. A fascinating musical vision unfolds, balanced between Anton Hunter’s majestic instruments: piano, vocals, drums, electric guitar, and electronic effects. Bass and saxophone share the score, with a conscious solemnity. Languid as desired, a brilliant composition capable of the most sublime half-tones, all the notes are there. “Give Space To Despair” (13:04) continues in the same supple vein of instruments, in the same velvety, melodic context. THE BASS SPEAKS: The second CD is a 58:58 performance of five pieces, the opener, The Bass Speaks Part 1 – I Can Do No Wrong (10:39), where John Pope finally shines with his bass intertwining with the saxophone, piano, and Johnny Hunter’s brushes, agitated by numerous small interruptions. The score draws slow phases, unrivaled in their softness and refinement, and the soloists’ playing shapes a sophisticated, modern stereo sound, full of ardor with this more committed bass, passionate at its best and well-supported by solid musicians. The Bass Speaks Part 2 – Pulse Of The Sumac At Dusk (10:29) offers rhythm, finesse, precision, tenderness, a faithful ensemble, a surprising musical world that delights the ear. Continuity in the luxury of these great moments with the distinguished bass. The Bass Speaks Part 3 – The Return And The Setting Out 12:40, a metamorphosis takes place with the solar piano and the virtuoso bass filled with its best reliefs. Discreet testimony of the great and sumptuous dark bass of John POPE via the dominant piano interspersed with welcome lyrical effusions from the orchestra. Sylvie ROSE’s flute, remarkable, as deep as it is meditative and dynamic, pours out its sonic prowess, demonstrating its beautiful ease and formidable efficiency. Her two-person conversation with the bass works wonderfully and marks a success. Then the conversation expands with the piano, percussion, bells, noise as well as brushes, and the radiant saxophone. Always with well-measured elegance, Sylvie Rose’s perfect singing; she is, with her singing and her flute, power itself, yet tranquil. She sings as well as she plays the flute, an enchantment that carries the entire orchestra beyond the notes.

The Bass Speaks Part 4 – I Sound The Roar Of Presence 13:02, notes Dry piano notes voluble over a masculine narration that responds to her like an echo. The perfect singing of Sylvie Rose, vocalizing to perfection in a canonical ball and abundances of her voice piled under her choral voices like a musical jewel with the call of the saxophone as a setting. A dynamic assured from start to finish, soft sound effects. A beautiful and graceful serenade served by excellent artists. The Bass Speaks Part 5 – To Fall Into Voice 12:48, an ocean of improvised cadences biting over several beautiful creations emanating from Sylvie Rose’s voice. Beautiful and surprising saxophone pages from Keith Jafrate unfold offering an idyllic panorama with the support of all the performers and the distinguished composer. The soloists retain their personalities in the varied and colorfully beautiful universe of UROBORO. An album with a repertoire of choice, assurance, consistency, and contemplation. A collection of inspiration and brilliance in the soloists’ performances generated by a lively, high-quality musical breadth. An album created for words dancing on notes with the regal bass according to all the musical symbolism of Keith JAFRATE. (****¼) – Marie MESMER, HIGHLANDS MANAZINE