Partikel : Harnessing Eric Ford

Eric Ford - Drums

I know Partikel and their music more intimately than any other Jazz trio in London, if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be writing this now. Many years ago I accompanied my friend and guitarist Richard Savage to the infamous Jazz Jam at Kingston's Grey Horse. As we entered, our eyes were assaulted with a vision straight out of Star Wars' Mos Eisley Cantina band, imagine Duncan Hemstock mid-clarinet solo and you've got it!

As I returned week after week I started to draw the house band, Partikel, and the motley crew of jammers. Eventually I tried to draw their new (replacement) drummer Eric Ford and capture his Yoda like persona. I realised then that Ford is as enigmatic as a Jedi Master.

Cast yourselves light years ahead and I was once again in front of Partikel last Tuesday (05/03/2013) at The Amersham Arms, New Cross with the rest of the S.E. Collective audience.
In the years in between I have spent a considerable time listening to and drawing Duncan Eagles, Max Luthert and Eric Ford. I have dissected their work to create album covers and their tunes have inspired many an animation.
So here in the present they appeared before me. It was a night of new and old material, all superbly executed with passion and verve.



Max Luthert - Bass

Running full pelt through their first tune 'Restless Child' they immerged the other side in Luthert Land, and his signature tune 'Assam'. The crowd were particularly appreciative of Luthert this night. He is the most laid back of the band, considering he is a 10 cups of tea a day connoisseur, I would hate to think what would happen if he stopped imbibing the caffeinated drink, the result would be the first prone bass player in history. He must of been playing well to have caught the eye for he is a modest man for the shadows, like so many bass players.

Duncan Eagles is the ultimate pro and one of London Jazz's great facilitators. He was exemplary tonight if not a little aggressive in his delivery. With something to get off his slim chest I checked my usual Eagles indicator, the left shoulder, like a barometer in changeable weather, spits and starts when Eagles is 'in the groove'.
 Damn!
I was side on so couldn't measure the degree of tilt adequately. I looked for new indicators. I've never seen him blow so hard and his face turned a cherry red. In fact he was blowing so hard his slow-slung hipster jeans nearly fell off his narrow hips. He excelled on both tunes 'The Landing' and 'D to the G'.


My favourite tune of the night is a mysterious one.

Duncan Eagles - Saxophone

I hope you all get the chance to hear it one day. I first heard it in Derek Nash's studio last year during the notorious Mark Perry Experiment session. Why and what the experiment was I never found out but imagine a child with ADHD and who'd eaten a pack of blue smarties then that would be the excitable trumpeter Mark Perry.
His group (Eagles, Luthert, Leak and Nicholls) was bolstered by the small matter of Gareth Lockrane on flute and they created the most brilliant tune called 'Barter's Band' together. It is a swinging joy and provides you with a melody that kicks like a mule for the week to come. There are rumours that this experimental brew (including Ola Onabule on vocals) may be released into the world sometime soon.

Partikel were fantastic tonight providing us with all the proof why they are one of Michael Janisch's leading lights at Whirlwind Recordings. I dearly hope the talk is true and a third album is in the pipeline.

I was pleased with my night's work, at last, I captured a likeness of Eric Ford, that quizzical look when he is pleased with his cow-bell skills or he has battered the audience with a particularly loud solo.
He still remains an enigmatic figure on the London circuit and if Partikel want to take the next step in their development they'll need to harness the force of nature that is Eric Ford.

May the force be with them.

AL

Both barrels from The Twelveheads

Peter Ibbetson - drums

Last Tuesday (05/03/2013) I witnessed the birth of a new band, it wasn't a difficult delivery, in fact no gas or air was needed and we smoothly entered a new era for the SE Collective's Peter Ibbetson. The new arrivals were 'The Twelveheads' who broke their waters at The Amersham Arms in New Cross, London.

This is a new monicker for the quartet who I had seen under their previous name, Pseudonym, just a few weeks earlier (November 2012, Spice of Life).
The S.E. Collective at the Amersham Arms have built a hard and cutting edge reputation in their brief history and this was another rapier like thrust into the soft underbelly of the London's music scene.

Although it's been through lean times, we have a nimble and expressive group of old and new Jazz musicians writing and performing some fantastic new material during Britain's darkest days of austerity. Capitalising on the appetite for fresh and original tunes Ibbetson was recording the night's endeavours with the help of Alex Bonney, who hid in the shadows, illuminated only by the glow of his laptop.

Alam Nathoo - saxophone

It was a patient and measured start that sucked the air from the venue itself (I Hate Nostalgia, I Want Nothing To Do WIth It.), creating a build up of latent energy that left me emotionally thirsty.
Then we felt the pumping rhythms of Alam Nathoo and the wafting & sweeping of Tom Challenger (Tenor) saxophones on 'All That Was, and How It Is Now'.

Nathoo is soft shouldered player, giving no indication of his power and intensity from the outside. Again Challenger has a disarming and prepossessing demeanour that is more Teddy bear than Grizzly. Although both took the spotlight on regular occasions  their power was at its greatest when working together. They elevate their performance not by competition but by nurture and building upon each other successes.



Tom Challenger - Saxophone

Entering the middle phase of the recording and Ibbetson's beats pulsed from his electronic box. They we're evocative and subtle throughout. For example in a composite of 'You Never Listen' and '51 Rue Cler' the electronic sounds we're reminiscent of a bell, perhaps warning you of an incident in a distant (mental health) ward. Ibbetson was restraint itself throughout, developing beautiful layers through scratches and washes. Although physically in the background he's very much the leader, both conducting with a lone hand at one point, and more commonly with eyes full of intensity.

At last we passed half-way and the quartet let rip with the bouncy melodic 'Here Comes Mylo'', a tune about an excitable dog. Apologies for this ham-fisted metaphor but 'The Twelveheads' were let of the lead, Challenger leaned back like he was begging for treats, Ibbetson's sticks rapped a barking beat, Tom Framer on bass wagged his shaggy tail and like a mischievous hound Nathoo pissed up the legs of the audience with devilish charm, and even cracked a smile at the end.

Tom Farmer - Bass

On the last tune of their recording Nathoo and Challenger again worked so well together under Ibbetson's direction. Both took turns building up the structure of 'Too Much To Think' until they then smashed their creation down with  both barrels of their collective saxophones.

Like many a musical evening we leave the venue picking through the pieces of our memory, humming the shard of
a tune or recreating a slideshow of images to replay in the future. The snapshot I'll leave with is not an image of Peter Ibbetson's first musical baby..... but of his twins, Challenger and Nathoo, crying in honeyed harmony. Don't take my word for it, look out for the CD that will grow up to be one of the 'big boys' of the Jazz playground.

AL