Basquiat Strings is essentially a classical string quartet leant extra heft by the addition of a double-bass and – on this, their debut CD – the light and sensitive rhythmic accompaniment of Seb Rochford. Make no mistake, it’s jazz but there’s not a whiff of Grapelli or Ponty here. Instead, the group’s classical background brings a freshness, the soloists coming at improvisation unburdened by jazz clichés in order to investigate the staggering range of tonal and textual possibilities provided by twenty lenghts of taut metal wire – from scalp-tingling harmonics, to tense pizzicato stabs and lush drones. The jaunty originals draw on Eastern European folk modes, pushed on by Pryce and Rochford’s subtly swinging riffs, but it’s the reinterpretations of classics that mark this out as superior fare. Try listening to the sombre, desolate reading of ‘Lonely Woman’ or the sumptuous, almost unrecognisable take on Wayne Shorter’s ‘Infant Eyes’ without being moved.
