James Taylor Quartet
Album: The Rochester Mass
Label: Cherry Red
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.jamestaylorquartet.co.uk

Knocking on the door of their 30th anniversary they may be, but there's nothing superannuated about the JTQ - in possibly the most audacious move of a career that has been defined by its refusal to sit still, Taylor has equipped the Catholic Mass with a soundtrack that's funkier than the proverbial mosquito's tweeter.

Quite what the Good Lord will make of it is anyone's guess, but if the devil has the best tunes, this is the sound of Jehovah staking a claim to the killer beats.

The piece has already been staged to some acclaim at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and in Rochester Cathedral so a recording seemed inevitable. That the album manages to convey a genuine sense of occasion about such a meeting of musical styles is a minor miracle in itself.

The band - Taylor on organ with Pat Illingworth (drums), Mark Cox (guitar) and Andrew McKinney (bass) - has been expanded to an eight-piece with Nick Smart (flugel), Gareth Lockrane (flute), Rob Townsend (sax, bass clarinet) and Ralph Wylde (orchestral percussion) in order to support what is essentially a 1500-year-old choral work with two sets of sopranos and an alto.

Little of which sounds like the ideal base for a groove, but when it all hits the beat on the opening Sanctus Part One, it's a revelation. Glory be, but at the risk of it being a sacrilegious observation there's hitherto unheard grease in the music that soars again in the second Agnus Dei and reaches a heavenly pitch on the closing Kyrie Eleison. Have mercy, indeed!

By approaching the voices as a musical resource Taylor seems to have climbed around the holy origins of the source material without falling into easy irreverence. Equally, the Mass proves to be far more flexible than a layman might have thought, adapting well to the JTQ's slick grooves.

Sanctus Part Two is an immaculate showcase of the choir's vocal skills, while Agnus Dei Part One allows Lockrane's flute to take centre stage in the cadenza and the Gloria offers a restful opportunity for reflection.

The Rochester Mass is possibly the least obvious album of the year, but certainly one of the most intriguing. Now, pass the rosary…

Nick Churchill
http://www.thegranvillechambers.co.uk