The Quiet Temple – The Quiet Temple (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:25 minutes | 510 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Point Of Departure
An amorphous musical collective put together by Rich Machin and Duke Garwood, with a rolling cast of players assembled from the likes of Soulsavers, Spiritualized, Stereolab and Julian Cope. For Machin, Garwood and the other musicians, a sense of adventure and devil-may-care inventiveness took precedence over precise design when they started the recording process. Over the course of a week, tracks were worked upon, honed or discarded. Everything was recorded live. There was no splicing of takes, as that would have defeated the concept.
Founded by guitarist Duke Garwood and Soulsavers’ Rich Machin, Quiet Temple is a loose-knit, slipstream instrumental collective named for a Mal Waldron composition immortalized by Donald Byrd and Booker Little. The rolling cast includes players who have worked with various bands over the past two decades and sometimes together. The roster includes saxophonist Ray Dickaty (Stereolab, Spiritualized); keyboardist Tim Lewis (aka Thighpaulsandra — Spiritualized and Julian Cope), drummer Paul May, bassist Peter Marsh (both Woven Entity), and guitarist Tony “Doggen” Foster (Julian Cope, Spiritualized, Brain Donor). Their music crisscrosses genres from psych and post-punk to left-field jazz, steamy dub, kosmiche, and even Krautrock. These six instrumentals were created by the group in the studio, though various boilerplate aesthetic ideas were brought in by Garwood and Machin, including three very different jazz reference recordings for the sessions: Larry Young’s Lawrence of Newark, Marcus Belgrave’s Gemini, and Noah Howard’s The Black Ark. The jams here are articulated by feel and texture. Guide riffs and vamps are played repetitively, establishing hypnotic grooves, while dynamics and tensions are (mostly) controlled — even during improvisations and solos. The set’s first track and preview single, “The Last Opium Den (On Earth),” and its successor, “The Bible Black,” offer traits similar to those of other instrumental acts such as Playgroup (an early On-U Sound studio ensemble), Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, and Bohren & der Club of Gore, but these tunes both eventually move further afield. In “Shades of Gemini,” referencing Belgrave’s classic 1974 album, Marsh’s dubwise bassline intersects with keyboards and drop-beat Motorik drumming while Dickaty’s multitracked tenor sax provides a modal sketch and soaring solos punctuated by squalling twinned electric guitars. Almost ten minutes long, it emerges fully formed but doesn’t really conclude. It’s only when the dark, post-punk “X-Rated” — that simultaneously recalls Basement 5, Weather Report’s early sinister early moments, and Can’s Ege Bamyasi — comes in that you hear the ensemble’s transition toward more engaged and dynamic play that establishes its identity. “Noah’s Theme” is introduced by Thighpaulsandra’s pillowy, electric piano before Dickaty’s horn articulates a sparse, episodic, harmonic line accented by dubby bass and spiky blues-tinged electric guitar — it gels to become a cinematic swell before dissolving in noir-ish groove. The set closes with “Utopia & Visions,” an episodic modal tune led by Dickaty’s deep blue tenor. Marsh’s bassline acts as his chief foil, though Garwood’s tempered, shard-like slide playing adds flavor, space, and atmosphere. They are all grounded by ghostly Rhodes and a skittering snare beat. The tune’s song-like construction gives it a loose, expressionistic, Velvet Underground-esque blues feel in timbre and cadence. On first listen, The Quiet Temple appears unassuming, but that’s a canard. This music is labyrinthine: It’s detailed without succumbing to excess or artificial cleverness. It offers the listener escapist pleasure and complex intimacy but demands attention in its totality. Ultimately, there are too few records like The Quiet Temple. While its musical referents are obvious, its assemblage, execution, and inspiration are not. ~ Thom Jurek
Tracklist
1. Last Opium Den (On Earth)
2. The Bible Black
3. Shades of Gemini
4. Rated
5. Noah’s Theme
6. Utopia & Visions
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