Partisans / James Farm, Cadogan Hall, London, 13/11/2015 (part of the EFG London Jazz Festival).

PARTISANS

Not many people are lucky enough to see Partisans play live twice in the space of three days, especially at two such contrasting gigs.

On the evening of Wednesday November 11th 2015 I saw the band play a “warm up” gig to an audience of around fifty people at the Queens Head pub in Monmouth (the group’s bassist Thaddeus Kelly lives nearby in the Forest of Dean). Tonight they reaped the benefit of that “paid rehearsal” as they supported the American quartet James Farm in front of a sold out capacity audience of 900 at London’s prestigious Cadogan Hall.

Regular visitors to the Jazzmann will know that I am a huge admirer of Partisans having followed the group almost since their inception. I’ve probably seen them more often than any other jazz act at a variety of performances ranging from pub and club gigs to festival appearances at Brecon, Cheltenham, Lichfield and now London. Whatever the location and whatever the circumstances this is a band that always delivers, I’ve never seen Partisans play a bad show and some of the performances that I have seen have been little short of stunning - their Cheltenham Jazz Festival collaboration with American guitarist Wayne Krantz immediately springs to mind. The Queens Head performance was also a joy from start to finish, it’s always a privilege to see such brilliant musicians at such close quarters.

After the pub gig on Wednesday it seemed a little strange to witness Kelly and his colleagues taking the stage in the luxurious surroundings of Cadogan Hall. Joining the bassist were the group’s co-leaders Julian Siegel (reeds) and Phil Robson (guitar) plus New York born, London resident drummer Gene Calderazzo. One of the longest running bands on the UK jazz scene Partisans have produced a total of five albums (all of them excellent) during the course of their near twenty year existence, a figure that would doubtless be greater if it were not for the individual members’ multifarious other projects – these are four highly creative musicians.

Partisans’ music can loosely be described as ‘fusion’ as it combines the sophistication of jazz with the power and drive of rock. Writing duties are shared pretty much equally between Siegel and Robson with both musicians bringing compositions to the band. The tunes are frequently complex but remain melodic and eminently accessible, this is clever music that still manages to appeal to a wide range of listeners. I’ve always felt that the second Partisans album “Sourpuss”, released on the Babel label in 2000 was a considerable influence on the wave of ‘punk jazz’ acts that followed, from Acoustic Ladyland through Polar Bear and Led Bib to GoGo Penguin.

Tonight Partisans chose to focus their efforts in this relatively short support slot to tunes sourced from their most recent album “Swamp”  (Whirlwind Recordings, 2014) beginning with Siegel’s album opener “Flip The Sneck” which featured the composer tapping Ghanaian inspired rhythms out on cow bell as well as soloing powerfully on tenor sax. Robson’s solo saw his guitar playing enhanced by an array of foot pedals, his sustain heavy sound referencing an acknowledged Jimi Hendrix influence.

Siegel’s “Low Glow” featured the composer probing more subtly on tenor before the tune gathered greater momentum with Robson’s solo during which Calderazzo’s floor tom toppled over as the drummer struggled to curb his natural enthusiasm (the same thing had happened at Monmouth on Wednesday).

Robson’s title track featured an ominous FX laden intro incorporating the pedal distorted sounds of guitar and electric bass. Robson’s solo was appropriately ‘swampy’ and distortion heavy as the guitarist continued to make effective use of his pedal-board to muddy his sound – but in a good way. Meanwhile Siegel began on soprano sax then moved briefly to cow bell before soloing incisively on tenor above the tightly knit riffs and grooves laid down by his colleagues.

Siegel’s “Overview”, the title inspired by the view of Earth from space, is arguably the most ambitious composition on “Swamp”. Suitably epic in scope, but always melodic and accessible, tonight’s performance was introduced on drums and bass by Calderazzo and Kelly before Siegel reached out for the stars on soprano sax, his solo expansive but engrossing.

As well as dividing the compositions pretty much equally Siegel and Robson also share the announcing duties and it was left to the latter to introduce his tune “Mickey” which concluded this all too short support slot – at Monmouth we’d had two full sets which also dipped into the band’s previous albums including the mighty “Sourpuss”. But this was a good way to end an exciting performance that had certainly ‘raised the bar’ for the big name Americans to follow. With Siegel back on tenor Partisans finished with a flourish with sinuously intertwining sax and guitar lines punctuating sparkling solos from both Robson and Siegel prior to a rousing drum feature from the dynamic and always impressive Calderazzo. A word too for Kelly, often the unacknowledged hero of the band, whose supple and inventive bass lines are at the heart of the group’s music and provide a platform from which his colleagues can explore. 

Partisans’ set was very well received by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic Cadogan Hall crowd. This may have been just a hors de oeuvre but it was a very tasty one, as the full two course meal had been on Wednesday night. To be honest I enjoyed them more at Monmouth - just because there was more of them to enjoy - but apart from the band members themselves I’m sure I was the only person present here tonight who’d been to both events. I can’t believe my luck sometimes.

JAMES FARM

James Farm is the collective moniker of a stellar American quartet, the first part of the name an acronym derived from the first names of its individual members, Joshua Redman (tenor & soprano saxes), Aaron Parks (piano, keyboards), Matt Penman (bass) and Eric Harland (drums).

The group released its impressive and enjoyable eponymous début album on Nonesuch Records in 2011, a recording reviewed elsewhere on The Jazzmann. A follow up titled “City Folk” then appeared on the same label in 2014, an album that I’d not heard prior to tonight’s performance, but it was primarily my enjoyment of that first record that tempted me along tonight and I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t to be disappointed.

I’d seen a number of the individual musicians before, notably Redman leading his own group at the short lived Birmingham branch of Ronnie Scott’s - which tells you how long ago it was.
Harland has appeared twice at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, once with saxophonist Charles Lloyd and later with the all star Overtone Quartet, on that occasion also featuring saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Jason Moran and bassist Larry Grenadier.
More recently I saw Parks lead his acoustic piano trio at St. Georges in Bristol alongside bassist Ben Street and drummer Billy Hart, a disappointing performance that too often found the leader drowned out by Hart’s overly busy and obtrusive drumming. Tonight the balance between the musicians was much better and Parks, playing a variety of keyboards at last demonstrated the kind of brilliance that distinguishes his solo offerings such as 2009’s “Invisible Cinema”. 
New Zealand born, New York based Matt Penman was the only one of the four that I hadn’t seen perform live before although I have heard him on a number of albums including “Invisible Cinema” (which also features Harland, the album, together with the SF Jazz Collective, perhaps forming part of the inspiration for James Farm). I’ve also reviewed Penman on albums by pianists Yaron Herman and Haydn Chisholm and by drummer Jochen Rueckert but this prolific bassist has doubtless appeared on numerous other releases, the Berklee schooled Kiwi has become a major presence on the New York jazz scene.

As the collective group name suggests James Farm is a highly democratic unit with all four of its members contributing compositions to the group. The band’s music is intensely melodic and the tunes often have song like structures and sometimes deploy electronic instrumentation. However although James Farm is a long way removed from the perfunctory superstar jam it is still a jazz band at heart and there was much fine soloing to enjoy along with some high quality writing.

Partisans had warmed the audience up nicely and the capacity crowd were with the band from the off.  They began with “Two Steps”, the Penman composed opening track from their latest album “City Folks”. Penman and Harland introduced the piece on bass and drums before Parks added a sliver of piano melody. This hooky, riffy piece provided the basis for expansive but melodic solos from Parks on acoustic piano and the sharp suited Redman on tenor.

Unaccompanied tenor introduced Redman’s “If By Air”, a tune sourced from the group’s first album. Here it took on a gospel tinge that was sometimes reminiscent of the spiritual jazz of the 1960s, particularly during the composer’s lengthy tenor sax workout. Parks’ fluently flowing acoustic piano solo was one of his best of the night and presaged a second salvo of declamatory tenor from the composer.

From the new album Parks’ atmospheric “Unknown” was ushered in by a passage of unaccompanied piano and saw Redman switching to soprano sax. A strong melodic theme -James Farm write tunes you can whistle -  prompted memorable solos from Parks and Redman as Penman and Harland offered empathic support, particularly so on a subdued piano trio interlude.

Redman moved back to tenor for his tune “City Folks”, the piece introduced by a gentle saxophone/piano duet before Penman assumed control with a bass motif that shaped the direction of the tune before mutating into an impressive solo. Parks’ lyrical piano solo received sympathetic support from Penman and Harland, the pianist seemed far happier with Harland than he had been with Hart at Bristol. The drummer then enjoyed something of a feature of his own before a closing tenor sax solo that saw Redman, ever the showman, throwing in a few flamingo shapes. Despite the democratic nature of the band there’s still a tendency to think of the extrovert Redman as its figurehead.

However it’s arguable that the group’s most accomplished composer is Parks. His gorgeous ballad “Farms” included a broodingly lyrical solo piano introduction and some tender but inventive soloing from Redman who made effective use of his tenor’s upper register. Parks later soloed in more conventional fashion and engaged in some exquisite exchanges with Redman. Harland provided sensitive brushed support to begin with but switched to sticks as the tune gathered momentum. Park’s melodicism was reminiscent of Pat Metheny or Keith Jarrett and the Jarrett thought also triggered, for me, memories of Joshua’s father, the late Dewey Redman playing with Jarrett’s celebrated ‘American Quartet’.

Parks switched to old fashioned Rhodes to impart an authentically period feel to the sly funk of Penman’s composition “Aspirin”, another eminently hummable tune that provided the springboard for effusive solos from Redman on tenor and Parks on Rhodes plus some spirited exchanges between the pair. A more reflective episode featured the soloing of the impressive Penman, skilfully shadowed by Parks and Harland.

Parks moved back to acoustic piano for Harland’s high energy composition “North Star” which closed out the set. Penman opened the soloing on bass, making use of both pizzicato and arco techniques. Parks’ free flowing piano solo was positively tumultuous, with a strong left hand groove complementing his right hand pyrotechnics. Tonight he truly confirmed just what a prodigiously talented musician and composer he is. Powered by Harland’s dynamic drumming Redman’s loquacious tenor soloing was equally impressive as James Farm left their audience on a high – there were standing ovations and whooping.

After some group discussion the inevitable encore proved to be Parks’ “Otherwise”, like most of tonight’s tunes sourced from the “City Folk” album. This was to be a particularly hard hitting version of the tune with Parks delivering a particularly brilliant solo on acoustic piano.

I was hugely impressed with James Farm, as were many others if the lines for the album purchase / meet and greet session after the show were anything to go by. I acquired a copy of the album later in the week and it’s certainly well up to the standard established by its predecessor.

With the bonus of Partisans earlier on this was a terrific way to launch the EFG London Jazz Festival of 2015.