BILL CARROTHERS Armistice 1918 Sketch  *****

As successful as it is unlikely, pianist Bill Carrothers's jazz suite inspired by the first World War is an evocation of the time partly through its songs and partly through his own compositions and group improvisations. It's many things: beautiful, sombre, wry, satirical and compassionate, a powerful anti-war statement and a tribute to the suffering and losses endured by combatants and loved ones, suffused with their yearnings. Amazingly, Carrothers achieves this with simple resources: a trio of himself, Drew Gress (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums), with permutations of Matt Turner (cello), Mark Henderson (contrabass clarinet), Jay Epstein (percussion), the unadorned singing of Peg Carruthers, and a touch of ensemble vocals.

The first CD of this double set takes an irony-laden journey through the era's songs, turning material like There's a Long Long Trail a-Winding and I'm Always Chasing Rainbows into inspirational jazz. The second uses less of this material; there are programme pieces by Carrothers directly evoking the war, combining the written and the improvised, their starkness contrasting the war experiences with the simple aspirations of the songs. As a suite it's very moving, imaginative, resonant with layered emotions - and one of the best surprises of the year.