I was intrigued to learn of ambient jazz duo Nelson Patton‘s deep involvement with the genre defying artist / singer Lonnie Holley and there is some obvious bleed between his brand of impressionistic, dreamlike song-writing and the slightly woozy, eyes half-closed atmospheres of Universal Process, their latest album. Although only just released, the pieces were written and recorded a couple of years ago, pre-pandemic, so it carries the feel of lives still being lived with expectation of normality in the future.
Universal Process opens in a muted manner, the cymbals sucking in their breath as the trombone generates mysterious wafts. It all hangs around under the sparse, spare influence of electronics which make like a distant searchlight. This easy and hypnotic opening makes for a greater surprise when the free whirlwind is unleashed. It is unexpected and awakening; the trombone is restless but never belligerent and calls to mind the well-spoken madman you happen across in the pub, brilliant but confounding and all too seductive.
Electronic sway and subterfuge haunts “Three Phases”, drums skittering, disturbed by an atmosphere, its gradual construction fused together from disparate parts over millennia. The trombone is a rudderless voice shocked and prodded by the cathartic drums, which shudder and shimmer but never overwhelm. It is only when things settle down that you can appreciate the dusting of electronics that populate the shadows. The pieces presented on Universal Process are well described as meditations; they breathe easily and naturally. There are no rushes to conclusions and things unfold at the right pace, particularly on the fifteen-minute title track, which starts slowly, as if concentrating on cracking the earth’s code. The trombone is so sweet and pure that it reminds a little of Jon Hassell‘s trumpet and the cymbals scatter like moss on a tin roof. The oozing sensuality shown here is also a surprise, a pleasant one that has no sharp edges and just insinuates itself into your being like fresh summer rain. The door is open and all are welcome here.There is also some experimentation on Universal Process; “The Gulf Between” is the soundtrack to a locked installation, a sleeping giant glowing in sickening light. There are glimpses, liminal spaces haunted by memories that recede, while final track “Entering The Clear” is almost like the inverse of dub as if it were hollowed out and left to dry, a trombone lullaby over the looped depth of ebbing and flowing electronics. It is such a lovely listen moving though moods but never unsettling. There is plenty of detail to enjoy but always with a warm glow and the LP looks great and I urge you on to Bandcamp. It is well worth it.
-Mr Olivetti-
