TBC introduces… Hugh Pascall
Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you first get into jazz?
I played with the local youth big band as a teenager, and Nathan Bray guested once on trumpet. He took some incredible solos with an amazing sound and I’d never heard anything like it before. I had to ask him for lessons! He really helped me discover so much and was such a good teacher. He’d take me to jams and down to NYJO on Saturdays, and I met loads of encouraging people through all that.
Was it always the trumpet and flugel horn for you, and what sort of stuff did you grow up listening to?
I actually started on the piano, then took up the trumpet when I was about nine years old. My dad was an organist, and my mum and sisters are cellists, so there was always lots of music happening at home. My dad researched and wrote books about Brahms and other classical music, so that kind of thing was always being played, and I suppose that was a heavy influence on my understanding.
When I was about fourteen, I remember getting Blue Trane on CD and listening to it over and over. Then I’d spend my pocket money on whichever Lee Morgan albums I could get in my local HMV. I bought lots of Miles and Chet Baker albums too. Someone then told me about Gerard Presencer, and hearing that, I was totally stunned. It was amazing to me how different that sound was, just so modern and angular and fluent. So then I listened to that on repeat too - that’s how it was with CDs!
Who are your main influences now? Can you give us the heads up on an album or an artist you like that you think we might not have come across and should check out?
I’m always listening to Freddie Hubbard - don’t think I’ll ever stop! I love finding a live album or video with him on it. He’s the trumpeter’s trumpeter. My main man. Just ridiculous.
Recently on trumpet I’ve been checking out Alex Sipiagin, Ingrid Jensen, Nicholas Payton, and Wallace Roney.
But I actually listen to a lot of saxophone and piano… sometimes I think I chose the wrong instrument! Recently I’ve been enjoying a Julian Argüelles big band album from 2015, called Let It Be Told. It’s really groovy and joyous, but heartfelt at times. It’s the music of South African exiles, but with Julian’s inimitable sound in the arranging, and Django Bates is on piano. It’s so skilfully crafted and I think there’s so much in there for everyone to enjoy.
You’ve played in a whole range of projects, from The Last Poets and hip hop to the BBC Big Band. Can you share a memorable experience or collaboration that particularly stands out?
I love the variety of stuff I do, and in the scene I’m involved with, everyone is unique and has so much to bring. A really memorable gig for all kinds of reasons was years ago, when I was in a band led by singer Haiki, who’s a good friend. We entered a competition to play at Glastonbury and won, which was pretty amazing in itself. But then we had such an incredible gig and a wild time at the festival. Performing there was just an fantastic experience and being at the festival was a great way to celebrate.
How does playing as a member of someone else’s band compare to the buzz of playing your own music as the leader of your own quintet?
We’ve done quite a lot of gigs now, so I feel like every time we play it’s really secure and a lot of fun. It does feel great playing my own stuff, mainly because everyone in the band brings so much unique talent to it.
Playing with Tony Kofi’s Inside Straight is always huge fun… we do Cannonball and Nat Adderley tunes from the 70s, and the atmosphere is really psychedelic and groovy. Tony’s sound and presence on stage is a marvel too.
We love the album Borderlands, which came out in 2022. Can you describe your music for those who are new to it and want to know if it’s for them?
Borderlands is quite a warm sounding album to me, and I think the atmosphere created is quite spacious. The tunes are mostly quite simply constructed things, written for the band to explore and create a sound together.
The intention was to write music that we could stretch out, and get together without too much fuss. It was written in lockdown, but strangely for that time, I was quite aware of trying to write things that communicated to a wide audience. I think it has a bit of something for everyone.
Who’s in your band, and how long have you all been playing together?
We have James Allsopp on tenor, Liam Dunachie on piano, Oli Hayhurst on bass, and Jay Davis on drums. I met James when we were at the Academy, and we’ve played in various things together ever since. The other guys I met more recently, maybe in the last six years or so, and we’ve done tons of gigs now as a quartet and quintet.
What can we expect from your show at The Bear?
We actually have a new album recorded and we’ll be playing lots of music from that. There’s a lot of swinging stuff in there where I draw on the sounds of Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, and Joe Henderson, while approaching everything in my own way. I guess you could say it’s a modern approach to post-bop jazz, with some twisted melodies.
Hugh joins us with his quintet on Friday 25 October 2024