Phillip Wilson: Esoteric

Rating: ★★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Olu Dara (t)
Phillip Wilson (perc)

Label:

Corbett vs Dempsey

August/2016

Catalogue Number:

CvsD CD027

RecordDate:

November 1977 and 10 May 1978

This record, originally issued on the Hat Hut imprint in 1979, finds former Art Ensemble of Chicago drummer Phillip Wilson navigating the outer sonorities of his kit, coaxing out a plethora of playful polyrhythms while lavishing special attention on his rumbling floor tom. Hiccupping patterns might initially sound overly-simplistic or even juvenile, but speedily evolve into stunning expositions of inventiveness, mind and technique abandoned to the now. Horn hooter Dara keeps up his end of the bargain, responding to the micro-riots of rumba by tooting up a bevvy of cavalryman clarion and fits of rasping flatulence. All this might suggest a right royal earful, but the duo were communicating something truly primal, a magical exchange between like-minded souls. Ever wondered how it would sound if the Clangers connived one of Raymond Roussel's surreal jungle japes? Wonder no more.

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