THE NATIONAL JAZZ TRIO OF SCOTLAND

It’s oh so quiet…

Hopefully, you’ll have a soothing balm to hand in order to alleviate your poor suffering sides, newly aching from the hilarious irony of The National Jazz Trio Of Scotland being neither a trio nor jazz. So with that out of the way, what exactly are they? Well, they’re Scottish, minimal, chilled and, actually, something of a soothing balm. Tinkling, occasionally toy-pitched piano-fortes (which are very rarely in the least bit forte) get serially morose in minor keys as TNJTOS emote via sonic swoons and make CSNY’s Our House sound like Slayer’s Raining Blood by comparison. A Quiet Life features the spellbreaking sampled parps of a big band at full honk, while Move and Far From You offer Latin flavours, the latter showcasing the full fragility of Kate Sugden’s vocal. “She’s as good as people like Liz Fraser,” opines keyboardist Bill Wells in the accompanying PR. Fair enough if he’s talking about the noted Carry On film actress, but while Sugden’s delivery is certainly effective in this particular setting, she’s no more a Cocteau than her accompanying combo are a jazz trio. That said, there’s an awful lot to love here.