The rails of the right gauge

Review of Toms Rudzinskis Quartet’s Album Interception

If the railways were built by saxophonist Toms Rudzinskis, they would most likely turn out perfectly. To the delight of music lovers and record collectors, he’s been doing exactly that in jazz for ten years now. Interception feels like a return to the sound of a traditional jazz quartet, but once again, there’s no shortage of fresh breezes in the form of a string quartet.

The new album should be seen in the context of Tom’s development along his jazz journey. It began with the record Abra—a quartet album that already featured colleagues he had met while studying abroad, not only in the core line-up but also in an expanded guest roster. Two of them—the British bassist Pet Clivers and the Austrian trumpeter Gerhard Ornig—were also key forces on the next record, Locomotion!, with which the label Jersika Records, now a natural presence in our jazz scene, announced itself.

This was followed by a significant leap from the quartet format to a big band, and the world was introduced to the pandemic-era project Space Big Band, created in collaboration with Danish bassist Kenneth Dahl Knudsen. At that point, it became clear that Rudzinskis would not follow only the traditional path but would continue to seek out new challenges for both himself and his listeners. This was vividly confirmed at the end of 2023 by the massive fusion-style achievement Abyss, which, like the big band recording, was made in Berlin.

With Interception, Toms once again underlines his love for the quartet sound, this time also giving in to the allure of strings. A similar move was made by Britain’s young jazz queen Nubya Garcia in her latest album, Odyssey. Used at the right moment, the sound of a string quartet provides yet another quality layer to jazz. Both of the above-mentioned albums are fine proof of that.

Interception was recorded right here in Riga, at Latvian Radio Studio 1. The string quartet parts, however, were added later at the Jersika Records studio, but that doesn’t interfere with the organic overall sound. The main focus remains on the traditional interplay between the saxophone and the piano-bass-drums combo, where the pianist naturally plays a significant role. This time it’s Alex Koo, a young Japanese talent living in Belgium, who himself cannot sit still within one framework and is just as passionate a seeker of new sounds as Toms.

At the album’s presentation concerts in Latvia, however, the piano was played instead by the no less unusual Lebanese pianist Tarek Yamani. A self-taught musician with a clear Middle Eastern influence in his playing style, he leaves one hoping to see him again in our part of the world. Perhaps on Rudzinskis’s next album?

A significant role in the sound of Interception is given to the constructively precise Italian double bassist Igor Spallati, while the importance of Ivars Arutyunyan in Toms’s musical development is hardly worth even beginning to discuss — he was already part of Rudzinskis’s very first quartet recording, Abra…

Accordingly, with the start of the new year, we will be holding in our hands one of the strongest Latvian jazz records to date. And not only in the context of our «new» jazz era, but in general. The level now reached by our mid-generation jazz musicians has never before been achieved in Latvian jazz. And it is logically explained: Toms, Ivars, and others have had the great opportunity to study at Europe’s top jazz schools, which also meant playing together with colleagues from many countries, who in turn have participated in both their concerts and recordings. You couldn’t imagine a broader highway on which to freely carry your ideas.

From the very first bars played by Spallati and the immediate joining of the string quartet, it becomes clear that Interception is yet another fresh delight in our jazz scene. Rudzinskis has refined his signature style and jazz language, which lacks neither subtle tricks nor universally recognizable core values. The compositions unfold like a light play in which any lover of classic jazz sounds would be willing to participate. And yet, the world conjured here is a modern one, once again making it clear that jazz continues to evolve.

The most expressive piece on the album is «Roundabout» — an unhurried romp in what seems like a very traditional language, which is wonderfully translated for the listener by the constant interplay of saxophone and piano, occasionally reaching toward a fusion sound. It culminates in the all-too-abruptly cut-off coda—the following track Pass By. However, this concept is evident throughout the album, as longer compositions are alternated with interludes that connect them, allowing the listener to catch their breath while also providing significant space for violinists Ivars Brinums and Madara Marta Gaile, violist Ineta Abakuka, and cellist Madara Norbute to showcase their mastery.
The album does not lack the kind of jazz romanticism that suits Toms so well, expressed especially in ballads or simply in beautifully elaborated themes. These are likely to resonate with a very wide audience. His talent as a composer allows him to weave a palpably personal attitude toward both life itself and the layering of diverse musical influences into jazz melodies.

The airy lightness with which the Rudzinskis Quartet delivers rather complex interplay testifies to a total maturity that will likely become even more enjoyable with each new record. Because the rails are set at the right gauge.