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Elly Roberts reviews
Babel Vortex Records
- Released: November 2007
- Rating: 8/10
- Vote and comment on this album:
Mercury-nominated debut very cool.
For a bunch of young lads, Londons very own Portico Quartet havecertainly made a name for themselves. Their Knee-Deep In The North Sea made abig impression on the selectors and judges at this years Nationwide MercuryMusic Prize, also giving a great account of themselves at the award ceremony last week.
This modern jazz instrumental combo Jack Wyllie (sax) Milo Fitzpatrick(double bass) Duncan Bellamy (drums / hang) and Nick Mulvey (hang), allstudents at University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies,have brought a breath of fresh air to the often stuffy genre via acombination of cutting edge free jazz and modern classical music, with some comparisonsto post-jazz experimentalists Polar Bear, themselves Mercury nominees in 2005.
They were only signed to Babel in 2007 after busking regularly outside theNational Theatre London and doing low profile gigs in the capital.
Their sound is distinctive because of the 21 century instrument the hang akind of steel drum (made in Switzerland of all places), featured on alltheir tracks, setting them apart from their contemporaries.
Though much of this collection is soft and floaty wanderings, it shows their keenlyhoned experimental, improvisational and jam like qualities and skills.Appropriately, the hang introduces opener News From Verona which has multiplesshades and timbre propelled by Wyllies skirling sax work.
Zavodovski Island is a totally different kettle of fish entirely, withits shimmering and languishing start, it builds up into a beaty shuffle, againfeaturing exquisite sax work and thumping bass drives by Fitzpatrick thatis surely destined to be sound tracked as some stage in the future.
The initial cool and swaying ambiance of the title track is eventually punctuatedby Wyllies edgy solos once more, drifting back into its laid back quality withdeft hang flourishes giving it a distinctive Caribbean flavour, whereas thechugging Monsoon spits and spurts around a funky groove line, again featuringWyllies soaring sax.
The build up of Cittagazze is measured, providing aliner foundation for the song to eventually take off just after the midwaymark. As good as Pompidou is, its strangely split into two with alengthy (and inexplicable) 3-minute break, when it re-emerges into classy andupbeat jaunt. Miles Davis would be proud of them.
Best track? The undulating and exceptional Steps In The Wrong Directionwhich has a deep urban feel.
File under: Well deserved nomination, and a great introduction to Jazz.
Weblink:myspace.com/porticoquartet
The full list of tracks included are :
1. News From Verona
2. Zavodovski Island
3. Knee-deep In The North
4. Too Many Cooks
5. Steps In The Wrong Direction
6. Monsoon: Top To Button
7. The Kon Tiki Expedition
8. Cittagazze
9. Pompidou
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.