IRISH MUSIC MAGAZINE

Five Points In The Story - Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle

John O’Regan interviews an enduring diva of folk.

In mathematics, a Pentangle stands for a five sided star, often associated symbolically with dark arts. Musically Pentangle stands for a seamlessly innovative fusion of traditional folk, jazz, blues and contemporary music. These elements are as strong as ever in Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle, the latest evolution of the seminal UK Folk/Jazz Fusion band.

Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle carries on the eclectic fusion as played by the original Pentangle. Comprised of Gerry Conway on drums and percussion, Spencer Cozens on keyboards, bassist Alan Thomson, Gary Foote on saxophones, flute, clarinet and Jacqui McShee on vocals, their new album Feoffees’ Lands keeps up the established Pentangle standard while constantly ploughing new terrain.

Feoffees’ Lands is the third studio project for Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle after Passe Avant in 1998 and About Thyme in 1995. Reocorded at Presshouse Studios near Colyton, East Devon, the organic sounds conjured by the band recalls the atmosphere of the local area. “Wherever we record our albums, we look at the local area that we are doing it in, and this album was recorded in East Devon near Colyton at Martin Barre’s studios. We had seen Feoffees’ Town Hall in Colyton and he said that it was all Feoffees’ Lands around here”. Intrigued by the title I pushed Jacqui further – “in 1538-9 the Lord of the Manor of Colyton, a kinsman of Henry VIII fell foul of him. He made his manor too grand and Henry had him beheaded and divided up all his lands. In 1546 some of the people of Colyton went to the King and asked for their lands back and he enfeoffed them which means that he gave them a charter and for £1000 they were able to but quite a bit of the land back. In the Royal Charter with the enfeoffement any profits they made had to be put to good work so they started the first Grammar school, and there are Feoffees’ lands all over England”.

Feoffees’ Lands is released on their own GJS (Gerry Jacqui and Spencer) labeland distributed through Proper Music. It is also available from the band’s website. The material included on Feoffees’ Lands includes traditional folk song arrangements, jazz standardsand new compositions in the unique Pentangle style. Banks Of The Nile and Sovay represent the traditional canon this time – the latter a funky new arrangement of a song first featured on Sweet Child. Two Magicians a ballad of the suoernatural and the battle of the sexes is highlighted by an amazing guitar solo from Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre and Broomfiled Hill is given a similarly dramatic reading.

“This is the second album we have made as well as one live album Live At The Little Theatre recorded at the Little Theatre in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. I suppose you could say it is our third album because it has the same people except Jerry Underwood whom we miss terribly and we dedicated the album to him. He had such musicality and tone and we keep in touch with his wife and we all miss him”. Jerry Underwood’s memorable sax playing helped to sketch the new Pentangle sound as he did with John Martyn’s touring band. Gary Foote fills the spaces admirably – he plays tenor sax and flute as well which adds another dimension and he fits in very well”.

Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle’s sound is based on keyboards as opposed to guitars and creates a dense, highly ornate sound with exotic percussion, sax and keyboards topped with layers of fretless bass and Jacqui’s crystal clear voice. “I still love the jazz side as does Spencer and Gerry and we are keeping the element of the jazz crossover which I love. I think I am so lucky to be able to do it. I am not a jazz singer but I love to sing the standards. If you take English, Irish and the big Russian composers, they take the folk music of their countries and turn them in to ballads and operas. I am not trying to be grandiose, but I think that we are trying to do the same thing, taking traditional music. The melodies are beautiful and the stories are great. But keep doing them in the same way? I don’t know, I think one should progress”.

Progress within tradition is what Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle is all about. They take the interpretive strain for traditional ballads, keeping the integrity present yet add new musical nuances and influences. This has proven a successful move. “We have got lots of new fans coming in because of that so at least we are keeping the tradition going. I remember seeing a film of Martin Carthy and he was saying how precious people get about traditional music. He said that it’s not such a precious thing and whatever way you do it as long as you keep passing on the tradition that is the important thing and I agree with that”.

At this juncture it must be stressed that along with Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band and Steeleye Span the original Pentangle updated the traditional ballad repertoire for a new audience giving such songs as Bruton Town, Once I had A Sweetheart and Cruel Sister a fresh contemporary sheen with treatments based in contemporary rock, jazz and world music styles. In doing this they wrote a new chapter in music history.

Pentangle was unique as it featured five outstanding soloists whose different styles complimented one another. Bert Jansch and John Renbourn’s duelling acoustic guitars offered a driving frontline and delicate interplay while Danny Thompson’s sympathetic double bass and Terry Cox’s solid methodical percussion locked things into place. The delicious vocals of Jacqui McShee added the final layer of sophistication. They influenced everyone from Clannad to Skara Brae to the more esoteric sounds of Mellow Candle and the forgotten mid 70’s trio Gaois. Speaking of how she became entangled in the Pentangle story Jacqui’s expalnation is brief and cryptic “John Renbourn told me ‘Bert Jansch and I are forming a band and you’re in it!’”.

Starting life at impromptu sessions at The Horseshoe Club in London in 1968, Pentangle’s groundbreaking early phase included acclaimed albums like Sweet Child and Basket Of Light, a top 5 hit in 1969. Musically where jazz, folk and rock mixed amiably, their excursion into creating atmospheric arrangements for epic traditional ballads Cruel Sister met muted response and road fatigue played havoc until they bowed out in 1973 with Solomon’s Seal. Returning to the scene in 1982, Pentangle continued touring and recording until the mid 1990’s.

In 1995, Jacqui McShee, Gerry Conway and Spencer Cozens released Abput Thyme an ambitious set which mixed traditional songs with jazz and world music forms. The music had the distinctive Pentangle sound but worked on richer more jazz flavoured canvases than before. Lush, full and exotic, About Thyme offered a fresh ingenious look at folk/jazz crossovers. “About Thyme was Gerry, Spencer and I” Jacqui recalls. “We weren’t calling it by my name or Pentangle because we didn’t have any intention of touring or doing anything with it. We just wanted to experiment and put some songs together and see if we could write together and it was such a pleasurable experience that all our friends helped out”. A new sound had accidentally evolved, elated, they went on tour to promote it. “That’s what started it off, then we were offered a deal with Park Records who said that we would have to use the name Pentangle. I was always lothed to do it, but I spoke to John and Bert and they said go ahead” and Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle was born.

Since then Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle has released two further albums Passe Avant and Live At The Little Theatre on Park Records. Their majestic blend of folk and jazz forms has reached further levels of maturity and sophistication allowing the epic folk ballads to breathe anew in a modern cosmopolitan world.

With her cool refined style Jacqui McShee has become the role model for many Irish Female singers including Moya Brennan. Speaking fondly of previous Irish concerts in Whelan’s in Dublin and The Lobby in Cork, Jacqui McShee relishes the chance to bring the current incarnation of Pentangle to Ireland at some point. Feoffees’ Lands adds new lustre to Jacqui McShee’s Pentangle’s flame and will whet the appetites until they return.