Pat Thomas/Chris Sharkey/Luke Reddin-Williams: Know: Delirium Atom Paths

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Pat Thomas (ky)
Luke Reddin-Williams (d)
Chris Sharkey (g)

Label:

577 Records

September/2023

Media Format:

CD, LP, DL

Catalogue Number:

5910

RecordDate:

Rec. 10 March 2020

This restless, exploratory, 44-minute improvisation documents the first musical meeting of keyboardist Thomas, guitarist Sharkey and drummer Reddin-Williams, live on stage in Leeds.

Despite the instrumentation, this sure isn’t your average jazz trio. Both Thomas and Sharkey are renowned for wringing unexpected sounds from their instruments – and it's likely that, though uncredited, they were both making heavy use of electronics here too. Thomas generates mangled blasts, radio wave whines and bubbling R2D2 bleeps while Sharkey serves up juddering drones and insectoid buzzes. Reddin-Williams maintains a fizzing hyperactivity throughout, flitting from clipped drum ‘n’ bass rhythms to splintered rockisms and pounding pow-wows.

Yet, despite the trio's daring refusal to settle in any particular idiom, fleeting suggestions of form emerge like diaphanous phantoms. Sharkey convincingly shreds a mean fusion guitar and even, at times, sounds like Jerry Garcia after over-indulging in the Kool Aid punch. At one point, with Sharkey coiling out a controlled feedback wail and Thomas holding forth a rumbling organ sound, you can even imagine this is the mythical Jimi Hendrix/Emerson, Lake & Palmer collaboration that never happened. Truly, this jam contains multitudes.

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