Bill Laurance: ‘Lumen’

Composer and pianist Bill Laurance has a seemingly unstoppable creativity that takes him in new directions, from Snarky Puppy and his duo work with Michael League to the latest album ‘Lumen’.

Sitting inside St Faith's Church in Dulwich, a tiny suburb of South London, one of the finest musicians of his generation was able to escape from some of the impositions of the outside world and Lumen is a stunning collection of compositions and improvisations.

Bill says: ”I'm not a very religious person, but it was special to play there while everyday life was on hold. And it's different when you're in that kind of setting, just communicating with yourself. I wanted to capture the freedom in music that arises at moments like that.”

The freedom of sitting at an acoustic concert grand piano with some fully-composed pieces also gave Bill the opportunity to explore the sounds of the moment within both the piano and the building.

"When you play solo, you have a unique opportunity to explore that. Recording in a church was the perfect setting and let me fully surrender to the music. The superb guitarist Isaiah Sharkey once said to me that it’s the music itself which tells him what to play. That idea really left its mark on me. We are usually trained to control everything, to practice until it’s perfect. But I think I've got to a point where I just want to let it flow. Do the opposite, let the music take the lead."

It was a pleasure to interview Bill in his studio just around the corner from the church in spring of 2024 for an episode of Harmonious World. He shared some of his creative ideas and where they came from for one of last year’s albums - Bloom. He mentioned during our conversation his search for creative outlets and Lumen feels like his re-connection with the music of his soul, stripped bare.

Lumen comes from the recording of around three hours of music and tunes like the glorious brief but expressive title track could have been longer, but don’t need that extension. On this tune in particular, light emerges from the darkness as the higher notes swim above the disappearing bass at the start and middle of the track - taking over and quietening to the fade out.

Alongside the grand piano, there are touches of a felted piano, heard perfectly in the simple but softly expressive theme of Mantra.

People often ask me which jazz musicians or albums they should listen to for a way into the music and Lumen is one that I’ve been recommending for a while, particularly for people who have heard Bill’s work with Snarky Puppy. This is different, but clearly comes from the same creative well.

Solo piano is a joy and Lumen is majestically simple and beautifully performed and recorded. The album ends with Even After All, gently leading us through Bill’s thoughts on where he is now as a mature musician, with the occasional audible sigh that seems utterly visceral. We are almost in the room: the final chord is released and one can only wish for more.