Short Reviews [Hugh Hopper - 2023 - "Jazzloops / The Stolen Hour"]

Hugh Hopper needs no introduction whatsoever to fans of Soft Machine, the Canterbury scene, or jazz, but these two albums might as they have been somewhat difficult to find. The first of these, ‘Jazzloops’, was released in 2003 and was only available on a CD-R which was burned to order. The music was taken from multiple sessions recorded over a few years where Hugh provided bass and guitar and was joined by friends such as Elton Dean, John Marshall, Robert Wyatt, Didier Malherbe, Pierre-Olivier Govin, Kim Weemhoff and others. He then took the improvised sounds and reassembled them in a different manner to create a new form of music, using the original tapes as a way of deconstructing and then constructing. I have come across this approach only once before when Robin Taylor did something similar, and it is certainly quite unsettling and adventurous. Also, there is no indication on who played on what, just that he and fellow Softs and others had got together to create new music, which he then turned into something else yet again. This means we have the invention and musicianship of those involved used like an artist’s palette, with Hugh choosing the colours and bringing them together, showing he was always looking for ways to push the jazz boundaries. ‘The Stolen Hour’ was originally released the following year, and in many ways is a companion album to ‘Jazzloops’ in that Hugh again provides jazz, bass and loops, but this time we do know who plays on what track, with the likes of Robert Wyatt, Didier Malherbe and Pierre-Olivier Govin again along for the ride. Mostly instrumental, this is a concept album telling the story of what happened in 2000 when due to pressure from international media, Australia’s government decided to have Daylight Savings start three months earlier than normal so overseas viewers of the Olympics would not be too inconvenienced. Obviously, this is difficult to do in an instrumental album, so Hugh joined up with American artist Matt Howarth who provided a comic strip which showed the impact it had on Australians in general and one person in particular (here included in the booklet). The two albums do work together as a pairing, with Hugh showing he had lost none of his talents for taking jazz into new directions and making it compelling and enthralling while never succumbing to the mainstream. Fans of the Softs will be especially pleased to be able to get these albums again which have long been unavailable.