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Amere3 are not a new formation. They made their first album, Trees, in 2000. The cover photograph shows a barren, blasted-out glade, but the sleeve notes seem to allude to urban trees, “desperate and unloved, with a foothold in the shabby brickwork”.

And the opener, Deodar, with Dainton's scuttling drums, Fell's hurrying, searching bass and Hargreaves's muttering, irascible tenor, seems somehow to sonically depict a shattered and ruinous cityscape.

But every created note is evidence of an astonishing co-operative sound.

When Fell says that over the years the trio have sought and striven “to find a language,” as a listener you feel firstly that you can work and succeed to understand it, and secondly that the three musicians have forged sounds as words which are completely mutually understood – one of the achievements of jazz's century of history and defying all internal categories, from Armstrong's Hot Five and the ~Ellington Orchestra to Ornette Coleman's ~Quartet to the Spontaneous Music Ensemble. It is always a new language to those who listen and imagine.

Hear the track Gean, where Hargreaves's soprano bursts into birdsong above Fell's grounded trunk and the branches twigs and fluttering foliage of Dainton's life of percussion.

Or the two furious parts of Katsura, with Fell's relentless deep murmurs, Hargreaves's forest of quiet grunts and the insects frantically tapping Dainton's cymbals and skins.

In Hiba, Hargreaves' flute is almost breathless, while Dainton's rumbles at the end suggests some other cessation.

The opening two minutes of virtual quietude of Coigue, almost noiseless and broken suddenly by the pounding first notes of Madrona, manifest the interior contrast of amere3's conception of music – surprise in artistry all the way.

Chris Searle, Morning Star------------------------------------------------------

amere 3's debut CD equally goes beyond idiom, managing to sound profoundly
foreign to these ears for most of its duration. Not foreign as in Albanian
or Macedonian, rather the group's obvious rooting in free jazz - we have a
bass/sax/drums trio here - is flung aside, though without the group lighting
out for the VHF approach (VHF share Simon Fell as bassist with amere3) of
sparse/dense, non-specific noise-making. This stuff is lyrical, though
whose lyrics I can't tell. To paraphrase Derek Bailey - in whose tradition
is this? This is world music as it should be - of all worlds and no
worlds - this is free jazz as it can be, without the frenzy, but with the
foreignness and the surprise that the best improvisation can have.

CHRIS ATTON

Sound Projector 10

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The Amere 3 is a sax/bass/drums combo
trying to find its own sound within a group format
that has a strong history in free improvisation
(Ayler's early groups, Parker/Guy/Lytton and many
others). They succeed in part. They do not sound
like any of these groups. Hargreaves saxophone
has certain echoes of Evan Parker especially when
he unleashes flurries of notes during the more
intense sections of this music. But, unlike Parker,
he rarely explores the entire range of his instru-
ment and he occasionally lacks a certain control
(more on soprano than tenor). Drummer Rob
Dainton has a nervous kinetic style that pushes the
music forward in lurches. He has a lot of energy
and knows when to unleash it and when to lay
back. Best-known member of the trio is bassist
Simon Fell. Fell's own trio with Hession and
Wilkerson is another sax/bass/drums combo that's
found its own niche. He fits in well with this group
and (at least to this listener) seems to be at the
apex of the triangle. The trio seems grounded with
Fell's energy and his interplay with Dainton seems
to be what holds these improvisations together.
There are some shining moments here. The
latter, quiet part of "Katsura Pt. 2" is a remarkable
passage of sustained interplay. "Coigue" is another
example of this trio's subtlety. And the opener
"Deodar" is a burner. But on the down side "Gean,"
with Hargreaves on soprano, sounds a bit of a
mess although there's a real connection towards
the end.

Robert Iannapollo

Cadence vol 28, #6

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Phil Hargreaves has gone from Bonehouse to bone crushing in four years, and his music sounds even better for it. Four years after recording as one-half of the improv duo Bonehouse with guitarist Phil Morton, the Liverpool, England-based reedist appears as one-third of the co-op band, amere3. A reeds-bass-drums free jazz power trio, he's dispensed with guitar and effects in favor of a rough, jolting, but still sympathetic essay in the whys and wherefores of up to date BritImprov.

Partners in this bumpy ride are Suffolk, England-based bassist and composer Simon H. Fell, an old hand in this context, having performed in similar groups usually with fire breathing baritonist Alan Wilkinson; and Hargreaves' fellow Liverpudlian, drummer Rob Dainton. All three have some shared history, having participated in the Frakture Big Band's renditions of Fell and Hargreaves compositions.

Leaving his composer's hat at home, Fell instead works to integrate his lines within this democratic trio. Telepathy is the order of the day, for the session works well enough to invite comparison with discs created by the longstanding Evan Parker-Barry Guy-Paul Lytton trio with the same instrumentation.

The skills of the other two are acknowledged, so discovery of the date would have to be the underrecorded Dainton. Within the combo context he can use his kit to suggest African hand drums as he does on both parts of "Katsura," utilize drum rolls to maintain the tempo as in "Madrona," and on "Rauli," push along the tune with bass drum accents and cymbal suggestions. Throughout he appears to exploit cymbal tones more than most other so-called free percussionists.

A commanding bass researcher, Fell seems to prefer his bow to his fingers on most of these tracks. Then again with it he's easily able to keep a constant sawing backdrop moving. Conversely on "Gean," he puts aside some menacing low pitched rumbles to mix the instrument's highest tones with Hargreaves soprano saxophone yelps to such an extent, that it's often difficult to tell which notes have been blown and which fingered. Otherwise, he can turn around and complete "Katsura Part 1" with a serene, finalized basso thump.

Seemingly revelling in having such simpatico comrades, Hargreaves has plenty of room for saxophone sleight-of-hand. "Katsura Part 2," for instance, begins to resemble an African rite with tenor sax false fingering, than dart and hide attacks, aided and abetted from what could be a rub board bass and "little instrument" showcases. "Rauli" on the other hand relies more on tart, double-tongued soprano saxophone mini-breaths, while "Deodar," after a slow start of slap tongued tones builds up a full throttle head of steam on tenor, though the truncated ending could have been improved on.

If there's any misstep on the disc it's "Coigue," which unrolls at such low volume that you have to boost the sound at lest four times to hear anything. When you do, though, the tune with its cymbal scrapes and saxophone asides seems to be moving in a straight line like a heart monitor showing a patient near death. More inventiveness could have suggested louder sonics. Right now, if listened to at the same volume as the rest of the disc, it appears to be little more than four minutes of Cagean silence.

This forest of one aberration can easily be separated from the quality of Trees, though. The rest of the foliage certainly presents an attractive wood lot of serviceable improv lumber.

-- Ken Waxman

jazz weekly

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Sax, bass, drums; it doesn't matter how many times we hear it, there's always something fresh to be done, and here's the latest.

Phil Hargreaves was half of the very happening Bonehouse, and we've been waiting for a long time to hear something new. He's a talented saxophonist who has a little of Charles Gayle's stuttering, staccato phrasing and some of Evan Parker's attraction to small note-groups. His playing has matured considerably of late, and this is impressive stuff from him.

Fell is another player we haven't heard much from lately, and here he plays furiously and very up-front, which is welcome. He is squeaky, percussive, even melodic; a perfect foil for Hargreaves and well in tune also with Dainton's rolling drums. Indeed, Dainton fills every corner of this disc with fascinating rhythms. He's a man we expect to hear a lot more from in the future.

There's something about this album which is very reminiscent of the mighty and enigmatic VHF, but the energy level couldn't be more different. Here all three play with gusto, and it works, as ever with such things, because they're able to listen so closely to one another, and respond so fast. This is immensely impressive; hats off to the Northern Arts Board, who thought to help out in producing this CD. It will enormously repay the effort of getting hold of it.

Richard Cochrane

musings

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All Music Guide

This trio plays uncompromising free improvisation out of all trends the genre has known during the 1990s. Actually, the music draws from everything, literally: the ardor of Evan Parker, the jagged abstraction of Derek Bailey, the silence-conscious music of John Butcher and Radu Malfatti -- there's even a bit of free jazz occasionally, like in Madrona. Drummer Rob Dainton is an unstoppable machine. He doesn't play necessarily loud, but his level of activity recalls Paul Lytton: feverish. He is the motor of this music and when he stops walloping around to, say softly bow a cymbal, time freezes as the listener is left gasping for air in a sonic vacuum. Bassist Simon H. Fell, still cruelly underrated, delivers a strong performance any fan of Dominic Duval should hear. He is inventive and useful, two adjectives we don't see together that often. Phil Hargreaves provides the high register either on saxophone or flute. His extended vocabulary still makes room for Coltrane-esque jazziness here and there, not unlike Paul Dunmall. The level of communication within this trio is beyond reproach. The musicians manage to create exciting moments, full of tension as to what will happen next. The two-part Katsura stands out as being particularly generous and includes a solo by Dainton. Hargreaves deserves more attention, as Trees proves it beyond doubt.

François Couture
All Music Guide

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