A Closer Listen
Reflection is a seemingly simple title that hides great complexity, and there’s a pleasing symmetry in the fact that saxophonist Diane McLoughlin has chosen it as the title for the latest album from The Casimir Connection, an ensemble featuring piano, bass and violin that shifts effortlessly between jazz and classical.
Reflections, at first glance, appear simple; it’s just the same thing, repeated. Take a closer look and you’ll see far more complexity than you first observed. The same is true of the cover artwork, both on an aesthetic and a meta level: the reflections are far more complex than they appear at first glance, mirroring the message of the album.
McLoughlin tells us that Reflection explores “uncertainty in times of loss and war”, times that we need to face with “compassion, honesty, understanding and connectivity.”
[It] explores different aspects of the fractured world that has been created over the last few years. It’s a collection of experiences, stories and observations created to appeal directly to the emotions and to resonate with personal experience. This ‘new world’ has suffered severe and sudden changes that no-one could ever have imagined. Through this chaos and uncertainty, fundamental beliefs and perceptions have been challenged and, at times, when we might feel out of sync with ourselves, the urge has been to grasp for meaning, to jump to conclusions, and to polarise opinions. However, given that the world cannot be fully understood or controlled, and that we are obliged to live with the discomfort of uncertainty, maybe now is the moment to consider the complex and self-contradictory nature of life, indeed, a time for reflection.
Thus the serene melancholy of album opener “Forgiveness”, which I love, contrasts profoundly with the argumentative central track “A Difficult Conversation”, which I find actually quite hard to listen to — and that’s precisely the point. This is not background music, it’s art. It’s nuanced and meant to be provokative. At its centre is a deeply humane message: if we treat one another with the values McLoughlin lists above—compassion, honesty, understanding, connectivity—we’ll live in a better world. But the message is more urgent. We’re not doing that, we need to correct our course.
“The Slow Walk From Home” is a salutary reminder of what’s at stake, depicting McLoughlin’s mother as she is forced by war to leave her Ukrainian home. The opening is reminiscent of some of Shostakovich’s most tragic string quartets. As the piano and later the saxophone join, there are brief moments of brightness, but as the woeful melody switches between instruments, it becomes apparent that this is an experienced shared by many. It’s not clear from the press release in which war this forced migration occurred, but the very fact that this is open to question ought to jolt us: how many wars will we allow before we learn? The piece ends without a cadence, leave the answer open. Pieces like “The Spirit of Birds”, “Everyday Heroes” and “Kaitiaki Anahera” (which I think means “guardian angel” in Māori) have a more hopeful tone and show us different models for how to live.
If you’re in London, UK on the 29th April, you can experience the album launch concert, where it’ll be played in full. (Garreth Brooke)
Wed Apr 24 00:01:25 GMT 2024