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Tempus Incognitum -

Frank Hockney - Tunes, arrangements, drums and percussion

Martin Pickett - Piano, accordian, trombone and synth

Paul Jefferies - Acoustic and electric basses

Tim Wilson - Soprano sax

The CD was recorded at Red Gables Studios in Greenford. Recorded and engineered by Dick Hammett, mixed by Paul Nickson. Recording and mixing took place between Nov 07 and April 08.

Some notes about the tunes:

Speak Low - One of the two non originals on the collection. The idea was to do almost a Big Band arrangement for piano trio, hence the syncopated sections. The half time Afro Cuban bridge sections seemed to sit well. Martin takes a nice Cuban feel solo before we move to an uppish section. There is a short drum solo over a bass/piano ostinato pattern.

Joseph's Coat - As a big fan of Steve Reich, the idea of a jazzish piece using patterns in different time signatures seemed fun. The constant drum pattern is a Danzon rhythm from Mexico, played on floor tom, bass drum and snare rimshot. The unusual thing about this rhythm is that the accents fall on beats 3 and 4 so it makes for a lopsided feel. The bass and piano take turns to play the rhythm part (in 4/4) and the opening melody (in 7/8). We meet up now and again! Piano and sax take solos over a modified chord section. We return to the melody and the ending links to...............

Bemsha Cascara - based on Monk's Bemsha Swing, I substituted a Cascara rhythm, hence the track title. Martin takes an extended solo on this tune, the idea being that the bass holds down the rhythm whilst the piano and drums are free to go where they go.

Hagen's Mother - A very simple chord sequence, written with Arvo Part in mind. The bass plays the simple melody. Always wanting to get tension in music, I proposed that Paul took an overdriven acoustic bass solo. What he played fits perfectly. We blended two solos together to get the eerie harmony lines.

Rena and Frog Sat on the Sofa -  After my wife Rena and I returned from a trip to Bulgaria, I wrote this East European influenced tune based on Klezmer music scales. It's pretty non jazz but the guys embraced the idea! I decided to use a Songo (African) rhythm for the drum part . It works well but maybe not one for Klezmer purists.

A Walk With Fafner - This started as an exercise in playing melodies of varying lengths ( 3,4,5 and 7 notes) over a constant meter of 2/4. This gives the effect of the melody speeding up although you can still tap your foot in time. It has one of those melodies you think you already know but can't name. If anyone has any ideas where I borrowed it from, please let me know!

Quote Me If I'm Wrong - An intentional nod towards Jaco and Weather Report of the 80's. I meant to keep a solid Samba all through but seemed to naturally fall into a sort of Mozambique type rhythm in the solos. Martin debuts on trombone in some short ensemble parts of this tune.

Other Times - Written a few years ago on guitar (hence the nice guitaristy Minor 7 sharp 5 chords). It was Bill Frisell inspired at the time. I added the improvised middle section as a complete contrast. Paul held a constant pattern in 3's while Martin and I tried to NOT think of it in 3. This is my favourite part of the whole CD. The American composer John Adams is fond of likening his pieces to unlikely meetings e.g. 'if Stravinsky met the Supremes'. Maybe Other Times is what would have happened if ECM had signed Liberace.