This would be Fifth World, I suppose. Canadian saxophonist Joseph Shabason likes to use electronic alienation for his instrument, its muted polyphony strongly reminiscent of trumpeter Jon Hassell’s Fourth World approaches. A penchant for ambient floatation is present as another unifying bracket. Joseph Shabason, on the other hand, shows an interest in loose song structures in loosened jazz arrangements that transfer Hassell’s aesthetics into a somewhat more traditional formal language. His further development thus takes place in recourse to the tried and true. Less decidedly ethnic, but always highly relaxed, Shabason’s »The Fellowship« is a kind of dreampop jazz design that deals with improvisation in a very friendly way without sounding »soft« in the banal sense. In »13-15« there is even a comparatively delimited guitar solo, which fits perfectly into the calmly pulsating electronic environment. In general, it is amazing how many instruments from trumpet, bass, drums and violin to vibraphone appear in these airy numbers thanks to guest musicians, without them dominating to any great extent. A community with quiet elegance.
Joseph Shabason
Welcome To Hell
Telephone Explosion