Phil Robson & The IMS Quintet

Recital Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire, 19/01/2011

This second date of a national tour by guitarist Phil Robson’s new international quintet was a strange affair. Jointly promoted by Birmingham Jazz and Birmingham Conservatoire the evening proved to be part concert, part educational forum with Robson and his bandmates discussing writing methods and other musical matters with the audience, many of them students at the Conservatoire where Robson is a visiting tutor. Robson also invited some of the students on to the stage to play, but more of that later.

Besides leading his own projects, among them the recent Six Strings and The Beat, Robson is also well known for his work with singer Christine Tobin and for his co-leadership (with saxophonist Julian Siegel) of jazz rock titans Partisans. This latest setting for his creative muse, the IMS Quintet resulted from a commission from Derby Jazz, Robson’s home town. The theme of the commission was “communication, ancient to modern” and Robson took the opportunity to assemble a stellar international quintet comprised of old friends and new acquaintances. The most notable name in the line up is that of American saxophonist Mark Turner from the trio Fly, a musician considered to be one of the world’s finest saxophonists. Robson had worked with Turner before on one of Christine Tobin’s recordings and another old friend Michael Janisch was summoned to fill the bassist’s role. Robson and Janisch go back a long way with Robson recently contributing to Janisch’s excellent “Purpose Built” album. Completing the group were Gareth Lockrane on flute and piccolo and Cuban drummer Ernesto Simpson who has recently moved to Britain following a spell in New York. Robson had not played with either of these musicians before despite admiring their work from afar and both brought a good deal to the new project.

The first half of the evening comprised of the concert with Robson presenting four of his themed compositions before the quintet rounded off the set with a blowing tune by Lockrane. Robson’s first piece “Nassarius Beads” was inspired by the discovery of ancient shell ornaments in a cave in Morocco. They are 82,000 years old and believed to be the earliest example of human art. Introduced by a passage of solo bass from Janisch the tune was notable for the distinctive blend of tenor sax and flute, Turner and Lockrane continued to generate rich and colourful textures throughout the evening, well supported by Robson’s elegant chording, Janisch’s powerful but supple bass and Simpson’s economic but characterful drumming. Solos in this first item came from Lockrane on flute, Robson on guitar and Turner on tenor. A promising start then, if a little formal and tentative with everybody reading from scores.

“Telepathy And Transmission” saw the quintet loosening up with Lockrane moving to alto flute and opening the proceedings with a solo passage that was later underscored by the dark, grainy timbres of Janisch’s arco bass, the bow sometimes being used in a percussive manner. Simpson’s cymbal shimmers and tympani like use of soft head sticks added to the already dramatic atmosphere. As the darkness eventually lifted there was more notable interplay between Lockrane and Turner before the saxophonist embarked on one of his most powerful solos of the night. He was followed by Robson’s soaring guitar, heavy on sustain and with a very tangible rock influence. This was impressive stuff with a definite cinematic quality.

Cinema provided the inspiration for “The Telegram”, a dramatic device used in the best romantic films. For this piece Robson had written a suitably romantic melody that drew further lush texturing from Turner and Lockrane and suitably tasteful drum accompaniment from Simpson. The only solo came from Robson himself but it’s likely that the piece will develop as the tour progresses. Robson has written a strong theme but the group played it pretty much straight through. It’s a piece that will doubtless benefit from a higher level of group interaction and more extensive soloing.

“The Immeasurable Code” took the patterns of Morse Code as it’s inspiration. The most difficult tune in the set, as Robson admitted, it was also one of the best with fiendishly difficult rhythmic patterns and some brilliant interplay between the instruments. Turner on soprano sax and Lockrane on piccolo mimicked the high pitched chatter of telegraph keys and the piece ended with a snatch of the real thing courtesy of Robson’s foot pedals. Eloquent solos were woven into this rich tapestry of sounds with Turner going first on soprano, followed by Robson on guitar and finally Lockrane on piccolo.

The first half closed with “Dark Swinger”, a tune taken, as he told us later, from Lockrane’s “book of hooks” and expanded into a composition for the purpose of this tour. Full of boppish cadences it was essentially a good natured blowing vehicle for the band and a bit of light relief after Robson’s more structured compositions. Janisch went first, setting the standard with a dazzling bass solo underpinned by Robson’s guitar comping and Simpson’s busy drumming. Turner on tenor, Lockrane on flute and Robson on guitar showed similar fluency before passing the lead back to Janisch who provided the framework for something of a feature for drummer Simpson. Simpson’s drumming throughout was a highly individualistic amalgam of swing, colour and economy. He’s a distinctive player who makes it all seem effortless and he seemed to be an ideal choice for this group.

After the break Robson and his colleagues talked to the audience about the music they had played and other related topics. Robson revealed that he doesn’t always like writing to a theme but that the discipline was useful and that he had learned a lot. He writes mainly on guitar, his colleagues on piano, but all revealed that essentially they write in a piecemeal fashion unless, as so often happens, a deadline provides the necessary creative stimulus! Robson spoke of his guitar heroes citing Kevin Eubanks’ work with Dave Holland as a particularly strong source of inspiration. If this came as something as a surprise to some Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny and Pat Martino were more predictable influences. Janisch spoke eloquently of the importance of a good practice routine and Turner talked technicalities with one of the young saxophonists in the audience. Turner’s quiet, unassuming but   perceptive and intelligent way of talking very much mirrored his playing style. 

All this was very interesting but maybe a little dry for the non musicians in the audience. Perhaps sensing this Robson asked for musicians to come and play and five young students came to the front of the stage. These included JJ Wheeler a young drummer and composer who is due to undertake a national tour in February 2011 as the leader of his own quintet. Wheeler and his young colleagues ran through the standard “All The Things You Are” with solos coming from each member of the group-alto sax, tenor sax, guitar, double bass and drums. Understandably all were nervous but there was plenty of promise here and one feels that thanks to the work being done by institutions such as The Conservatoire that the future of British jazz is in good hands. It’s good to see musicians like Robson who have been through the jazz education process giving something back and afterwards he and his colleagues discussed the performance with the students.

To close the IMS Quintet took to the stage again to perform one of Turner’s compositions, one as yet untitled. Turner is perhaps the most prolific composer in the group, making a strong contribution to the Fly repertoire as well as to his solo projects. This piece was typically intelligent and harmonically complex with plenty of interesting ideas going on. Turner has a distinctive tone on tenor sax and often makes use of the instrument’s higher altissimo register. His lyrical phrasing has drawn comparisons with the late Warne Marsh whom Turner has named as an influence. Following solos by Robson on guitar and Lockrane on flute this piece gave us the opportunity to hear Turner tonight for the last time.

I’ll be honest, having made a one hundred mile round trip I’d rather have heard more music and less chat, interesting as the latter was. However as the venue was an educational establishment the format was perhaps appropriate and even laudable. Nonetheless I still felt a little frustrated, a review on Sebastian Scotney’s London Jazz Blog site of the Wavendon show the night before made reference to three other pieces “A Serenade”, “Fire And The Drum” and “The Instant Message”, the latter a tribute to Billy Strayhorn. I’d have loved to have heard these too.

However I may yet get that chance. The second of the quintet’s two shows at London’s Vortex is to be recorded for broadcast on Radio Three’s “Jazz On 3”. Whenever it’s transmitted I’ll make sure I’m listening. Robson also spoke of his hopes of releasing this music on CD. Let’s hope he succeeds, there’s much to enjoy here and at the time of writing still clear space for further development.     

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