Jan Steele and Janet Sherbourne: Distant Saxophones
Community Library

Community Library, operating out of Portland, Oregon and overseen by co-founders Paul Dickow and David Chandler, has performed an invaluable public service in assembling this collection of material by English multi-instrumentalists Jan Steele and Janet Sherbourne for release. The eleven tracks were culled from a variety of sources, and in a number of cases major audio restoration had to be applied; in the case of one track, the album tapes couldn't be located so the material was transcribed from an original mint copy of the vinyl record. A spirit of dedicated recovery informs the release in general, making Distant Saxophones a rather incredible exercise in resurrection, re-recording, and exhumation. Despite the fact that many of the tracks came from different contexts, the album achieves a remarkable degree of cohesiveness when the common denominators are Steele and Sherbourne.

Many of the details about this varied set fascinate, whether it be a track produced by Brian Eno from the ‘70s or intimate settings featuring Sherbourne's voice and piano. While some pieces do feature saxophone prominently, the album title shouldn't be construed to mean the instrument dominates (the title derives from one track title); that said, a number of pieces do include saxophone playing (soprano and alto) by Steele. Variety is, however, abundantly in play when the recording encompasses a diverse range. Some pieces align with Another Timbre-styled minimalism, others ECM-like chamber jazz, and still others introspective, jazz-tinged balladry.

The Eno-produced “All Day,” originally included on the 1976 John Cage release Voices And Instruments issued on Eno's Obscure label, features text by James Joyce and augments Sherbourne's vocal with guitarist Fred Frith, bassist Steve Beresford, vibraphonist Kevin Edwards, and others. The song's noteworthy for a number of reasons, its tranquil tone and experimental folk-jazz character for starters, but even more for presenting the first taste of Sherbourne's singing. Strange as it might sound, her soprano voice invites comparison to Chet Baker's for its soft and fragile qualities. There's also a confident ease to the dreamily transporting performance that carries over into the album's other tracks.

Though “Distant Saxophones” was written in 1972 by Steele, this iteration's a 2007 recording that includes the couple's sons Nathaniel on ciblon and Luke on Chinese gong and doesn't, in fact, include saxophone at all. Instead, flutes appear alongside viola, piano, and bass guitar in a plodding, processional-styled instrumental marked by solemnity and a lentando treatment. The 1974 piece “Rhapsody Spaniel” was recorded at the same session as “Distant Saxophones” but departs from it dramatically in featuring Steele and Sherbourne in a three-hand piano duet. While it also was written by Steele in the early ‘70s, “Temporary Farewell” was recorded and released in 1993 (on the compilation Silence: A Quiet Manifestation of the Future) and sees the soprano sax-wielding composer joined by six others (including Sherbourne on piano) for a serene chamber jazz evocation.

When the collection advances into its second half, the presentation shifts to a number of intimate settings featuring Sherbourne's voice and piano, from her vulnerable ballads “Nobody But You” and “Every Day” to Steele's haunting “Ivory” (also distinguished by a lovely alto solo by him and with Janet singing lyrics by Dorothy Steele, Jan's mother). The album's last four selections were written by Sherbourne, including 1973's “Slowly,” a lovely home-recorded duet performed by her on piano and her son Nathaniel on vibraphone, and “Still,” a gentle meditation recorded in 2007 and featuring piano only. Whereas many of the settings are subdued, “City Night Music” presents a considerably more aggressive sound, this one written by Steele in 1983 and performed by him alone on wailing alto sax and multi-tracked piano and synthesizers.

June 2022