Ubuntu Music, in collaboration with ECN Music, is delighted to announce the signing of composer/arranger/musician Tim Garland, for the release of Moment of Departure, an extraordinary project.

This is the most ambitious project of Tim's stellar career, with a celebration of Lighthouse Trio's 20th Anniversary (Gwilym Simcock and Asaf Sirkis), along with a stunning display of Tim's prowess as a composer and arranger with the Britten Sinfonia, featuring violinist Thomas Gould, along with trumpet ace Yazz Ahmed performing as a special guest on one track.

Writer/musician/broadcaster/jazz historian Alyn Shipton wrote the compelling liner notes for the album, capturing the essence of this masterpiece.

Tim, in his own words, describes the project: “That Moment of Departure, from the known, the notated, towards something new is a shout of fearless freedom. The compositions on this album all have crucial and varied relationships with improvised music, from string orchestra to intimate trio, and completely free-form music. Classical influences and visual art have informed me, as much as my jazz heart. The series of paintings called Sail To Hope, by Esra Kizir Gokcen, provide a backbone of inspiration for the first disc’s music. The subject of journeying into the unknown, as well as the influence of Turkish rhythms, create the background atmosphere whilst maintaining the spaciousness and freedom for the jazz soloists.”

Tim continues, describing in detail the music contained within each of the two parts of this release:

PART ONE: “‘Winds Of Hope’, ‘Trails’, ‘No Horizon and ‘The Impossible Self’ show the trio in full flight - with the string orchestra guesting on the opening track which has an almost fanfare-like quality. The others are more searching, reaching an eccentric and virtuosic climax on track four - a kind of searching for the impossible!

“Continuing along, ‘Sub Vita’ invites Yazz Ahmed, whose beautiful flugelhorn sound depicts life under our oceans here.

“Moment Of Departure, the title track, is a composition built around recorded spontaneous improvisations, scored for string orchestra, the normal order of ‘improvising over a composition’ is reversed, the orchestral score is composed around the improvs, with a climax joining the material together with angular driving rhythms.

“The final sparse ‘Moment Of Arrival’ is an open ended coda, featuring the haunting bass clarinet.”

PART TWO: “This features violinist Thomas Gould joining The Lighthouse Trio firstly in an interpretation of Vivaldi’s Winter. ‘Approaching Winter’ also features the string section of the Britten Sinfonia and demands all four soloists to depart from the written page into freewheeling expressivity and jazz improvisation, whilst the composition honours all of Vivaldi’s themes, deriving the “opened up” sections, from them.

“’The Forever Seed’ was written two years earlier. I had wanted to write a concerto for Thomas for a long time and, enjoying his ability to loosen himself from the written page, created improvised interludes between the movements. I do not play on this but conducted the orchestra, which includes a cimbalom. This instrument acts rather like glue, playing in the improvised sections along with Simcock and Gould, as well as the string orchestra. The music here is a nostalgic dedication to the pastoral classical music I heard in the family home as a child.”

Concerning his new relationship with the Ubuntu Music record label, Tim elaborates: “I am delighted to be partnering with Ubuntu on this, my most ambitious release to date: ‘Moment Of Departure’ has allowed me to exercise my passion as composer and inhabit the hybrid worlds within the musical genres I love so much. I thank Martin (Hummel) and the Ubuntu team for having faith in this double release!”

Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, concludes: “Tim always has been and remains one of my absolute favourite artists, as a composer, arranger and as a multi-instrumentalist. When the opportunity surfaced to represent what is arguably the most ambitious undertaking of his illustrious career, it was a dream come true, for the label and for me. ‘Moment Of Departure’ is a mesmerizing musical journey of two halves: the 20th anniversary of the Lighthouse Trio, and an extension of this by showcasing Tim’s compositional and arrangement skills to also include the Britten Sinfonia orchestra, featuring the exceptional talent of violinist Thomas Gould. The artwork for the project was created by the gifted painter, Esra Kizir Gokcen, depicting the plight into the unknown. The music refuses to be categorized. Is it Jazz? Classical? ‘Jazzical’? ‘Clazz’? Frankly, it really doesn’t matter. Its effect will draw listeners from various musical persuasions to celebrate a strikingly exceptional cacophony of genres to please the head, the heart and the soul. We are absolutely delighted to have Tim join the Ubuntu Music Family. May this be the start of many more to come on our journey together.”