TrioJazz. The Fast Show taught us how to say it properly. Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaz. Smooooooooooth.

I have been to a few jazz clubs in my time – nothing as trendy as Ronnie Scott’s – and tapped my foot to Dixieland, trad, bebop etc. The guys at Metal Blade have obviously been to a few as well and have snapped at the chance of releasing Trioscapes second album Digital Dreamscapes.

The trio is the brainchild of Dan Briggs bassist in Between the Buried and me and was brought about when he got on the blower (see what I am doing here) to tenor Sax/flautist Walter Fancourt and drummer Matt Lynch.  Their first release “Separate Realities “ was well received by the Jazz world climbing high in the specialist charts.

“Digital Dream Sequence” sees the band trying to capture the spirit of their live performances in these new compositions.

Jazz fusion is the name of the game. Come back! Stop running for the hills. There is plenty here for the novice as well as the Jazz hands on types. Fusion often conjures up images of kitchen sinks being synched with electric flutes while drum kits are thrown down stairs. Yeah there is a bit of that on this collection of jams but it works, mostly.

The opening title track jumps right in with Briggs getting his Zappa awn and letting the bass line go for a walk. The sax is used to great effect offering a stark punctuation to the frenzied drum and bass on offer.  Matt Lynch is no ordinary tub thumper he seems to channel both human octopus Keith Moon and floppy wristed Jazz great Gene Krupa – often in the same paradiddle. “Stab Wounds” is the single and gets all acid jazz up in our faces. I am already trying to find stack heels and a pimp suit in my size when the Jazz (or should that be Yazz ) flute starts up. Syncopated rhythms and time changes abound making this a hard track to groove to but these guys give no quarter and no shits about the listener. This is a ride to get on endure or enjoy and think about the experience later.

“From the Earth to the Moon” brings out the xylophones and glochs and twists and turns with beatific ambient sections segueing into sax riffs that got my head nodding and spiralling rhythms that sent my mind reeling off into the atmosphere. Just as things get a little too crazy and I am looking to skip for fear that the trio have lost control they draw back and we are back in a chill out zone which puts this philistine in mind of Kiss Me era Cure and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Bizarrely “Hysteria” seems tame in comparison despite its title, although I may just be getting battle weary by now. This is not an album I can enjoy in one sitting. It is like having a seven course meal where every dish has been blended in a fusion of different ethnic styles with so many flavours and aromas that your senses are overloaded. I find myself craving a fish-finger bap with Tommy K.

Closer “The Jungle” is 15 minutes long. I steady my thousand yard stare and prepare to unleash my inner Colonel Kurtz as I plunge into this heart of daftness. Starting with percussion that was half Soulfly half New Age shop muzak “The Jungle” is a trip too far for me. The changes in pace and direction are well executed and the musicianship is top notch but my mind has now wandered and I am looking for a steady groove on which to rest my weary head.  By the time things go really batshit at 10 mins in I am scraping guano off my shoes and longing for tarmac.

These guys know what they are doing . They are uber talented musicians and there is enough BTBAM to keep many of Mr Briggs fans happy. For me this is a step too far out of my comfort zone. Stop the ride. I wanna get off.

(6/10 Matt Mason)

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