‘Mandible’ is wholly captivating. The 2nd single off Jackson Mathod’s upcoming EP Studio Natives Vol. 1 is contemplative, edgy, enthralling, technically delightful, and sonically arresting. ‘Mandible’ is an extremely exciting piece of modern jazz from a masterful composer and player.
London-based jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist Jackson Mathod studied jazz at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2009, then quickly got into the world of session playing, playing with high profile artists such as Stormzy and Jordan Rakei. Mathod then enjoyed a string of successful singles in 2020, followed by his release of his successful and widely acclaimed debut album Travels in a Confined Space in April of 2021.
‘Mandibles’ starts with a play on the infamous Jaws soundtrack, taking listeners by surprise before introducing Mathod’s weapon of choice on the piece, the trumpet, with which he lays down a number of totally intoxicating solos, alongside a complex set of repeating motifs that are long-winded, colorful, and entrancing. The bass and drum groove, laying down the play on the iconic Jaws ‘duh-dum’ constitutes a foundation on which Mathod improvised solos that range from the sublime, to the surreal, to the absolutely insane. Moments of precious respite on ‘Mandible’ showcase a soloist with a sensitive ear for melodies that are warm and accommodating, while moments of madness showcase a player with no perceptible technical limitations, willing to drive listeners insane with solos so intense they grind time down to a halt.
There’s a sense of foreboding drive to ‘Mandible’ that kept this 7-minute instrumental behemoth, eerie and endlessly compelling, going for the half a dozen plays or so that I needed to write this piece. The play on the Jaws motif is both fun and inspired, familiar, yet providing fertile ground for so many melodic and rhythmic options, a great deal of which are not left unexplored by Mathod and his manic solos. In the end, ‘Mandible’ kind of feels like something you have to experience by yourself. There’s not much to be said about the fantastic trumpet work on ‘Mandible’ other than how much it effortlessly twists the mind, while retaining a sense of approachability throughout. Jackson Mathod’s Studio Natives Vol. 1 is shaping up to be up there with the finest jazz releases of the year.