Chip Wickham – La Sombra review: ‘impressive solo debut’

Vintage-vibe jazz from Roger ‘Chip’ Wickham, a flautist and saxophonist with one foot in the Manchester scene - think GoGo Penguin, Matthew Halsall & the Gondwana Orchestra - and another in the clamorous late night barrios of Madrid, where he lived for several years.

This impressive solo debut features a trio of Spanish musicians on piano, double bass and drums & vibraphone, with Wickham recalling the likes of Sixties icons Yusef Lateef and Harold McNair in a set of originals that variously bop, groove, swing and soar.

Flamenco classic La Leyenda Del Tiempo, the only cover, has its fire relit; the laid-back spirituality of slower tracks Pushed Too Far and Tokyo Slo-Mo stirs and soothes. Dynamic stuff.

(Lovemonk Records)