Category: Recordings

Promotion by The Music Outpost

W. Royal Stokes (Jazziz/Washington Post) Notable Releases of 2018

AustralianJazz.net. Best recordings of 2018:“Music with a sardonic sense of humour. Total coolness.”

“…a hard-grooving quartet session that feels like an even looser, funk-and swing-heavy, horn-driven extension of Medeski, Martin & Wood’s decades-long innovations, with strong emphasis on group chemistry, on Spence’s swirling organ work and Johnston’s swinging and identifiably smooth tone on both alto and soprano. . . this is music where individual solos do emerge, but the fundamental modus operandus is more about a collectively interpretive approach that, even in its adherence to Johnston’s at-times knotty scores, is performed with such reckless abandon as to suggest that no two performances of any of Diggin’ Bones’ ten tracks will ever be remotely the same. And that, in a nutshell, is Diggin’ Bones’ most compelling magic.

–John Kelman, Allaboutjazz.com

“The presence of organ rather than piano immediately gives Johnston’s tunes a different sound…blends wistful alto with punchy organ, the latter with gritty, bluesy air… incorporating rock, jazz and blues into an infectious, cooking recipe.”

–Ken Dryden, New York City Jazz Record

“Despite the avant-ish tilt of their résumés, Spence and Swanton cook on Diggin’ Bones. They have a lot to work with; Johnston writes as pointedly as he does for The Micros and other venues, his wit slippery with a few drops of vinegar… Despite Spence, Swanton and Cecire’s simmer, Johnston plays it rather cool throughout the proceedings. Johnston’s soprano sound resembles Steve Lacy’s in the ‘90s, when the astringencies of the ‘70s had been squeezed out and replaced with a fuller, warmer envelopment, while his alto approaches Paul Desmond’s idealized martini dryness… What brings them into the ballpark of 21st Century organ jazz is the band’s conviviality, which is contagious.”

–Bill Shoemaker, Point of Departure.

“A Characteristically Dark, Cinematic New Album from Phillip Johnston: this is arguably the best band Johnston has worked with outside of the Micros, and this album is one of the best and most tuneful of 2018.”

–New York Music Daily/Lucid Culture USA

https://lucidculture.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/coolerators/

“New York saxophonist and composer Philip Johnston spends as much time in Australia as in the USA. He expresses himself there with consummate musicians ready to follow him in his musical explorations. Known among others for his participation in Fast ‘n’ Bulbous, Philip Johnston continues to express a vision of jazz that belongs only to him. Moreover, he and his Australian musicians present in this disc a relaxed style, even downright cool, but never boring. It is even eloquent at many moments as the phrasings are pleased to burst into improvisations, often complex, initiating a jazz where the swing is not absent. With an ounce of funk, to further groove, the four acolytes serve a music full of wits played with a communicative pleasure. They drink, as they see fit, to all styles of music and it gives a nice bazaar, with a hint of Orientalism, where the pieces are shifted well enough to form melodies with varied colors that sing to the music. ‘hear. The apparent lightness of the whole can be seen, in this context, as a form of politeness partially masking the substantive work conducted with a real musical authority. Cool and cheerful.”

­–Yves Dorison, Culture Jazz (FRANCE)

“Johnston’s compositions have more than enough changing aspects—from beautiful soprano sax solos to funky organ breakdowns—and tunes which range from eccentricity to dramatic moments that there is plenty to hear which is enticing, exciting and sometimes enthralling. . . worth discovering for fans of organ/sax jazz who want to experience something atypical and slightly idiosyncratic.

–Doug Simpson, Audiophile Audition

“…an inseparable mix of sources and interests, in which the random episode, the anecdote of life lived acts as a detonator for an explosion of musical creativity that follows paths never trivial or predictable, and often ventures, without losing irony and lightness, in inaccessible territories. In the variety of climates and genres that this new adventure also shows, live together songs developed around simple funky riffs that become ideal terrain for improvised explorations that are never conventional and rich in inventiveness by the four musicians…”

–Tracce di Jazz (ITALY)

“Here we have a band showing that when it comes to playing jazz and blues there is often an overlap, here brought together with a huge amount of swing and funk. Swanton and Cecire do their best to provide a structure for the other two to work on, and then stay out the way while also displaying their own wonderful musical ability. Cecire is the more flamboyant of the two, with an impressive work rate on different areas of the kit, but Swanton keeps it all tied down and doesn’t let the band get too out of control.”

–Jazz Music Archives (NEW ZEALAND)

“…seriously beautiful music …extremely fine musicians all of whom are completely attuned to Mr Johnston’s vision. …classic Johnston music, which is deceptively simple, but which also emerges as being highly idiomatic and complex in not only in sub-text but also in the rhythmic gestures and devices that he employs – featuring often abrupt changes in metre – as well as often using repeated phrases, subtly played, layer upon layer… The breadth of modes employed…is not just simply staggering but also highly inventive.”

–Raul da Gama, “Phillip Johnston x 2”, Jazz da Gama (ITALY)

“Johnston has released a new album from his band the Coolerators, Diggin’ Bones, on which he is joined by Spence, Cecire and Necks bassist Lloyd Swanton. This presents another facet of his music: a love of aerated, groovy, organ-based jazz. …worth the cost of admission…7.5/10”

–John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)

“There is no lack of jazz talent down under to play Johnston’s creative music. The Coolerators includes the leader…Alister Spence…Lloyd Swanton…Nic Cecire. …. The presence of organ rather than piano immediately gives Johnston’s tunes a different sound. …“Regrets #17” was previously…by Johnston’s Transparent Quartet; this new arrangement feels much looser, with greater interaction…Spence’s rollercoaster accompaniment stimulating Johnston’s adventurous spirit. “

– Ken Dryden, New York City Jazz Record, Jan. 2019

“If edgier than standard organ jazz, the whole is still mighty inviting (and klezmer-tinged), so if you enjoy Microscopic and/ or Medeski, Martin & Wood, I’ll bet you’ll like this, too. A-“

– Joseph Neff, The Vinyl District 

“…Johnston is in good company when he’s not in New York. …Diggin’ Bones…is a collection of animated jazz instrumentals that combine playful melodies with folk and klezmer influences… This is fun and irresistible melodic groove music that invites the listener in… …there are many…standouts (ten cuts total) that will still be playing in your head the morning after.”

– Peter Thelen, Expose