Innovator putting tuba centre stage

An exciting new album from jazz player Theon Cross is allowing the tuba to finally come out of the shadows. He talks to DAVE FREAK

AS far as trio line-ups go, the combination of saxophone, drums and tuba has not, it must be said, been particularly wide

spread.

Yet, with tuba player Theon Cross at the helm, it’s a set-up that’s already produced one of jazz music’s most exciting and innovative albums of the year: Fyah.

“I was listening to [US saxophonist] Arthur Blythe at the time, and he had a trio with [American tuba player] Bob Stewart, and I loved their freedom,” says Theon of making Fyah and his love of the tuba. “And I loved the freedom that I had to just dictate the harmony, to create harmonies.”

In Theon’s hands, the tuba sounds unlike any tuba before it.

“I was also really interested in effects at the time, and I thought that by us being so minimal that effects could augment the sound, you know?”

Released in February, the extraordinary Fyah placed the meaty tuba firmly centre stage. There’d been hints that Theon was about to drop something special – notably the track Brockley on Brownswood Recordings’ already seminal We Out Here compilation, and an appearance with Shabaka Hutchings’ Mercury Prize nominated Sons of Kemet – but Fyah’s eight instrumentals really gave him the space to showcase his ideas, ably assisted by two other leading members of the current jazz renaissance, Nubya Garcia (sax) and Moses Boyd (drums).

“Nubya and Moses, who play on the album, were just people I was playing with around that time … it was more of a case of me enjoying the musicianship of those people, liking the instrumentation,” adds Theon of his studio band line-up.

Live, however, the composer tends to call on other musicians, including several different drummers, saxophonist Chelsea Carmichael, and guitarist Nikos Ziarkas. Expanding the trio to a quartet, the addition of guitar in particular takes some of the weight off the sax and provides more atmospheric elements, broadening Theon’s unique sound further.

“The guitarist I use as well is very textural, very influenced by a lot of different psychedelic sounds, and is able to help fill the space and make it sound a little more interesting, basically.”

The brother of trombone player Nathaniel Cross (who also contributed to Fyah), Theon started off playing tenor horn and euphonium before moving to the tuba, and was soon holding tunes down with a London carnival band at such events as Notting Hill Carnival and Thames Festival. With few people gravitating to the tuba, it was, he noted, “a vital role”.

“So it kind of made me feel important, it definitely helped with my self-confidence, made me feel valuable, made me feel that I was part of the music in a big way, it was something I really started to love.”

From playing bass parts, he soon found himself exploring rhythm, harmony, melody, and incorporating elements not just from various jazz traditions, but also grime and hip hop, as well as Caribbean and African traditions. These are influences that give Fyah much of its fire.

“They are the music of my surroundings, the music of my youth, the music I’m interested in at the moment,” he says.

Theon Cross plays Hare and Hounds, Birmingham, on September 19 as part of Town Hall Symphony Hall’s Jazzlines series, which offers performance opportunities to new and established jazz musicians at venues across the city. For tickets, see: www.thsh.co.uk