Fergus McCreadie Trio

Turas

Own label

Citing preeminent pianists McCoy Tyner and Esbjorn Svensson might seem to be placing too much of a burden on a 20-year-old’s shoulders but these are the names that immediately spring to mind on listening to Fergus McCreadie’s debut.

Opening track The Culearn Mill’s quiet beginnings, although very Scottish sounding, have much of Svensson and his trio’s subtle persuasion and thoughtful attention to detail. Then … crack and we’re into Tyner’s Fly with the Wind, or something very redolent of it, reimagined through the Scottish and European classical traditions.

The effect is exhilarating and typical of McCreadie whose finely tuned group with bassist David Bowden and drummer Stephen Henderson has been wowing audiences with live performances that bristle with collective dynamism and individual prowess that, in their youthful leader’s case, speaks of prodigious, cascading technique while communicating warmth of personality and the ability both to convey a sense of place and landscape and make a melancholy phrase somehow spiritually uplifting.

Turas, which is Gaelic for journey, is jazz with a strong Scottish accent but with all the best ingredients of the American model – including brilliant solo building and touches of church music – well to the fore.