Swamp (Whirlwind Recordings)
Partisans
Released September 22, 2014
Parliamentary Jazz Awards Album of the Year
YouTube:
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About:
Swamp is the fifth studio album from Partisans, who since their formation in 1996 have been thrilling audiences the world over with their ferociously energetic performances of tightly knit themes and the great freedom coming from their years of playing together. They’ve been credited with bridging the gap between New York swing, European improv and UK jam, where the combination of each member’s influences feeds a genuine creative spark generating excitement and energy. Co-led by two of the preeminent musicians of their generation, Phil Robson (guitars) and Julian Siegel (tenor sax & bass clarinet), the quartet line-up is completed by Thaddeus Kelly (bass) and Gene Calderazzo (drums). They are widely acknowledged as the godfathers of the new wave of British post-jazz and improv and have outlived many of the bands that have come since their formation. BBC Radio 3 asserts they are “one of the most exciting all star experimental groups in jazz today.”
With years of touring the globe and a cult following in their native UK, where they have played every conceivable venue from backwater pubs to the largest concert halls and festivals, Partisans have released four albums to date: their self-titled debut (1997, EFZ), Sourpuss (2000, Babel), Max (2005, Babel) and By Proxy (2009, Babel). But it’s Swamp that sees the band blow open their already eclectic and unpredictable palette, taking their music to new heights as a result of their near 20 years together.
The album glistens with classic Partisans energy, full of their trademark shot of gritty rock riffs and athems mixed with P-Funk grooves and fresh use of electronica and multi-layering. The richly lyrical, strongly melodic and subtly tricky compositions written by Robson and Siegel provide the framework and starting point, underpinned by the solid, freewheeling and supercharged rhythm section of Kelly and Calderazzo. While influences range from Miles Davis’ later bands to the most contemporary happenings from NYC and London, the album is 100% Partisans from the first note. Virtuosic passages from Robson and Siegel jump out of the speakers as Calderazzo excites with a propulsion that many drummers could only wish for, and all the while Thaddeus Kelly’s warm and full-tone bass underpins and subtly crafts the band as they navigate rhythms-a-plenty paired with unpredictable time shifts. Free improvisation mixes with full on swing and Robson’s lush comping drives Calderazzo’s drumming into bonafide moments of sheer excitement, while Siegel’s lamenting bass clarinet pairs in duet with Kelly’s bass in the breathtaking ‘Icicle Architects’.
Swamp sees Partisans at their very best; unabashed raw emotion mixed with a consummate collective sound and interplay that can only be achieved when a band has this much history. Nowadays so-called ‘bands’ come and go with the changing seasons; it’s becoming even more vital for music such as this to get recorded and heard.
Track Listing:
1. Flip the Sneck (Julian Siegel) 05:18
2. Low Glow (Julian Siegel) 06:30
3. Thin Man (Phil Robson) 06:46
4. Swamp (Phil Robson) 07:40
5. Veto (Julian Siegel) 05:43
6. Overview (Julian Siegel) 08:56
7. Mickey (Phil Robson) 05:36
8. Icicle Architects (Phil Robson) 05:46
Personnel:
Julian Siegel: saxophones & bass clarinets
Phil Robson: guitars
Thaddeus Kelly: bass
Gene Calderazzo: drums
Recorded February 3 – 4, 2014, at Eastcote Studios, London, UK
Engineer: Jake Gordon & Philip Bagenal
Mixed by Philip Bagenal
Mastered by Chris Lewis
Produced by Phil Robson & Julian Siegel
Executive Producer: Michael Janisch
Review:
Partisans, seen by many as the godfathers of the flourishing UK prog jazz scene, plough their own idiosyncratic path on this their fifth album, and first to appear on London label of the moment Whirlwind. The title conjures up fears of a blues rock abomination but thankfully the gentlemen have refrained from donning bandanas or placing cigarettes in the band of a wide brimmed hat to instead produce an eclectic treat.
The dominant colour of the musical palette may well be Silent Way/Bitches Brew era Miles Davis but this is no pastiche, Partisans add their own colours, textures, emphases and accents. So while there might be references to the “It’s About That Time” bass line on “Low Glow” or a touch of “Shhhh/Peaceful” in the cymbal on “Icicle Architects” they never overwhelm the overall feel and the band add more than enough to pull the music in different directions. The blend with the light African influenced guitar lines on opener “Flip the Sneck” is particularly effective for example.
Even the title track, which you might reasonably suspect ran the greatest risk of rocking out, neatly subverts the opening “Bitches Brew” keyboard stabs by running an ominous “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” type bass line underneath the wah wah guitar until the band enter with an intriguing circular rhythm. The jump closer to Norman Whitfield territory works well and puts the piece in a wholly different place—more Temptations than Ten Years After. Phil Robson’s heavily treated guitar sound and rhythmic control in the initial section is a good example of the restraint shown, being angular, studied and thoughtful.
Many of the tracks shift time signatures and keys in quixotic fashion, but without the unnatural random feeling that can occur in lesser hands. So “Overview” starts out like sixties Motown with its good time bass line and breezy, African horn riff, before merging back into a 70s Miles Davis feel again, a little like “Maiysha” on Get Up With It in lightening effect if not specifics. Similarly the title track runs the reverse journey starting out in Bitches Brew territory before hitting a blaxploitation soundtrack feel in its final section, a more swaggering take than the seasonally affective seventies cop show theme that fits well in “Thin Man.”
This is clearly a talented group of musicians recorded well, updating the jazz templates of the past with clever juxtapositions and fine playing. Julian Siegel in particular plays beautifully throughout —take the airiness of his solo on “Veto” snaking around Robson’s effective rhythmic accompaniment for example. Similarly, on “Low Glow” he fits a welcoming late night solo around Thaddeus Kelly’s bass to great effect.
This is an album to get swept up and along in—filmic, rhythmic and inventive throughout it rarely settles for the obvious, expected path and it repays concentrated listening with countless new discoveries. Best of all no bandana required.
Phil Barnes (All About Jazz)
