Album Review: Everything We Hold by Kairos Quartet

Scroll down for full album stream Kairos 4tet’s third album (and first for the Naim Jazz label) is the kind of statement that might raise a few eyebrows within the UK contemporary jazz fraternity. Already adept at writing and performing high energy, interactive music with strong melodies and an accessible sound, saxophonist and composer Adam Waldmann has now gone one step forward by venturing into the world of song-based music. That he has done this with full commitment rather than half-heartedly or tentatively is crucial – Everything We Hold could easily have been an insipid disaster but actually transpires to be a deft, clever and engaging piece of work.

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Kairos 4tet, the 2011 Mobo jazz prizewinners, are an instrumental band first, but saxist/composer Adam Waldmann has always left room for vocals, and on their third album half the tracks are songs. Regular singer Emilia Mårtensson is joined by the comparably ethereal Irish singer-songwriter Marc O'Reilly, and soul star Omar guests on Song for the Open Road. For all this radio-friendliness, Waldmann's sensitivity to jazz dynamics and potential for improv remains sharp, as is his own sax-playing – sometimes reminiscent of Andy Sheppard.

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