[LedZep]

Damn long album title, the full thing is "The Space In Which The Uncontrollable Unknown Resides, Can Be The Place From Which Creation Arises"

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

The Space In Which The Uncontrollable U...oney Death

Sounds Like: 2 long Pharoah Sanders style spiritual jazz jams, but it's surprisingly fresh and not a 1:1 copy.

Origin: Leeds, UK

This is everything you need in quarantine. Seriously. Uplifting, happy, fun but also ever so slightly melancholic jazz that you can put in the background or foreground and it sounds equally awesome. The harmonium gives the whole thing a distinct feeling, the compositions are eclectic and 99% of the time the band keeps the listener occupied. There's a lull here and there but never a serious issue that detracts your attention from all the good stuff that's going on.

The band is comprised of:
Tony Burkill (saxophone, band leader and main composer), Adam Fairhall (piano), Neil Innes (bass), Sam Hobbs (Percussion), Chris Dawkins (guitar), Pete Williams (percussion), Dan Edward (french horn), Matt Bourne (Harmonium), Rachel Modest (voice)

Special thanks to Hayden for suggesting this one, it's killer.
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Overall chart
Fake overall chart

2020s

[Repo]

oh, cool! I saw u & Hayden geeking out over this about a month but haven't had a chance to give it a proper listen.

[EyeKanFly]

Thanks for posting this one. I was considering it for when I'm up, but I'm sure something else worthy will be released between now and May (and if not, I have a fallback).

I really loved this album. It was sitting atop my 2021 list until I listened to the new Nick Cave last week.

Fantastic spiritual jams, clearly drawing influence from Pharaoh Sanders but also from the Coltranes and also a little Albert Ayler as well, while also putting a distinctly British spin on things. I don't really know how to describe "British spin" on jazz other than to check out other current British jazz musicians to get a sense of the difference between some of the current jazz scenes in the US. Work Money Death is from Leeds, and most of the great collaborative jazz efforts are coming out of London in the past few years, so there's certainly some differences between WMD and London artists like Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, etc. Highly recommend checking out The Sorcerers as well, some of them (Neil Innes, Pete Williams) are on this Work Money Death album. Also don't get confused between this album and Tony Burkill's earlier "solo" album called Work Money Death which features many of the same musicians. Worth a spin as well.
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[Hayden]

Aaaaayyy. I know this one. Easy rec.

Really seems to have taken off, which is great.

(Gives me a chance to catch up on last week's pick...)

[Mercury]

Just got around to listening to this. It’s great. I saw it on LedZep’s chart and had it on a shortlist of 2022 albums to hear. So that was finally done.

Just to be lazy, I’ll copy/paste my comment:

(Pharaoh Sanders-style spiritual jazz with 2 big, meaty pieces of transcendent beauty. Really solid album here.)

I wasn’t aware how much I craved some spiritual jazz to swim around in until I pushed play on this. I instantly was just in a better place as I listened.

The album itself is composed of 2 pieces, both about 16-17 minutes, called “Dusk” and “Dawn”.

To say this sounds Pharaoh Sanders would be an understatement, as it is clearly very similar to Sanders’ work. Of course that isn’t a bad thing, as Sanders is an absolute giant and his influence and style has influenced a myriad of artists. But if you are someone who for some reason feels personally offended if a modern artist wears their influences on their sleeves, then you’ll maybe be turned off by this fact.

At the same time, their is a vibrant, joyous, exploratory atmosphere that these musicians create that is their own. For example as the music of “Dusk” builds and shifts and crescendos from its breezy and blissful opening minutes to its clattering, more abstract avant-garde final phase, it’s clear that the musicians have gone into a different creative realm. It’s quite beautiful and inspired.

“Side 2” is a completely different vibe. “Dawn” doesn’t crescendo with a noisy clash of horns nor get particularly avant-garde, instead it is a more consistently uplifting feel and the vocal line/chant comes in and makes the whole thing just groove in a powerful and beautiful way.

I’m no expert on jazz, but I do love the spiritual jazz masters I’ve delved into such as Sanders and Alice and John Coltrane. This is a beautiful modern reimagining of that music. And it’s clear that there is a really beautiful jazz scene alive and prospering in England these days. I look forward to seeing where else it takes us.


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Overall yeah this was a great choice for ALC! I need to circle back and listen to the last 2 because I don’t know I was just kinda meh the last couple weeks about most everything so never listened fully to leap second or that wonky album. This album though kinda woke me up. And it’s much appreciated.
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-Ryan

ONLY 4% of people can understand this chart! Come try!

My Fave Metal - you won't believe #5!!!

[Repo]

Just fantastic! Sitting at my deck drinking a coffee while Tilly plays with our guinea pigs in the yard. The sun's out. School's out. Feels like Spring. Perfect music for a perfect day!

Will be squatting in my top ten for some time to come I imagine.

[RoundTheBend]

Yes, I'll have another.

[musicoed]

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[kokkinos]

I was expecting you'd nominate something much heavier, so I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw this one - not that I'm any jazz aficionado whatsoever, but it's definitely much more accessible for me. Anyway, the Pharoah Sanders influence you guys keep bringing up is of course quite accurate, though it has to be said it's not that obvious or dominant to the point of overshadowing the individuality of this. I would say it might lack some of the intensity and spirituality of the forementioned artist, but it makes up for it by adding a more playful dimension - at least in parts. Also, the Dusk/Dawn idea works like a charm, they are diverse enough but at the same time feel like they belong to the same album, still haven't made up my mind which of the two I prefer. No complaints when it comes to length either, it's more or less ideal.

[Hayden]