Bassist Seth Ford-Young is at the center of »The Cradle«, the first release of his new project Phi-Psonics, apparently named after a massage table that not only plays any kind of music but also chases it through the entire body via sound transducers in the range of 10Hz to 17kHz. Inspiring listening experiences anyone? This way. As a session musician and composer, Seth Ford-Young has been active between Los Angeles and San Francisco for around twenty years, collaborating with Barry Manilow, Eric McFadden, Tom Waits and Beats Antique, but has also worked for film and television. Originally from the Washington, DC punk scene, the busy arranger still draws on his experience in the chaotic band business of the political metropolis and is able to bring together loners and soloists of the most varied shades. The six pieces on “The Cradle” bear witness to this, but also demonstrate an incorruptible feeling for warm harmony processes free of any slowness, for partly improvised, musically accurate arrangements away from formalistic dead ends. When Mitchell Yoshida’s Wurlitzer is surrounded by baritone and tenor saxophone, bass clarinet or alto flute next to the delicate drums of Josh Collazo – all four of them played by the obviously highly talented Sylvain Carton – it really sounds exciting and relaxing at the same time. This enchanting serenity is not only the result of the perfect interaction of all participants, but above all the attention to the timbre of each individual instrument – most of them would sound great even solo. This applies not least to the bass of the band leader, which here and there reminds one of the formidable Lloyd Swanton of The Necks. The playful quality does not diminish to any second over the entire duration of the record, which is why the highlighting of individual pieces seems pointless. Maybe »The Cradle« really is the cradle of a fresh jazz combo with almost erotic charm, which we will hear more about in the future.
The Cradle
