I've come to the conclusion that many jazz albums are simply vehicles for artists to have an excuse to hang out with their friends. You'd think this would make most of them insufferable, given the results that this motivation often produces in the form of podcasts and streaming content, but you'd be wrong. At least in the case of the ensemble I'm focused on here, London Brew. In this instance, the pretense of seeing people that one likes and admires and doing something creative with them pans out for the benefit of all those involved, as well as the observers (ie, us, the ponderous rabble). The thirteen-member creative coven essentially does what it says on the label- concoct a heady draft of rhythm and pulsating sound, intoxicating in its impeccable fluidity and blurry integrity, vibrating within the membrane of a discernably nebulous anatomy that can barely contain the power of their potential- a mingling of complimentary chaoses that burns so hot it threatens to raise ocean levels the world over. The continuity of the group's output is a consequence of their shared metropolar habitation and ready repport, propelled by the excentric diversity of their talents and backgrounds. As you might have guessed from the name of the group, a primary concern of this congregation is to reinterpret and express an interest in dialogue with Mile Davis's 1969 masterpiece through the personality and prowess of their colleagues. The reverberant flavor of the resulting concoction is the fusion of these aptitudes and affinities in such a manner that smooths London out like a glop of marzipan- the sounds that define it, the culture it houses, the people who call it home- spread into an entirely plastic and malleable plane of potential that spans as far as sound will travel- a primordial soup of precognition, a boundless tillage of raw seeping clay of the sort which humankind was born from in which to plant the seeds of the next stage of enlightenment, a destination that you can only arrive at once you've contented yourself with standing still and feeling the moment. At the very least, London Brew's debut will make you wonder what you and your group of friends might be able to accomplish if you assembled your talents and aligned your passions- maybe just take a pause if you see yourself headed in the direction of launching another podcast into the ether... there are already so many.
