90CD - Martin Archer - Anthropology Band - CD plus download

Reviews

Miles Davis’s so-called electric period parallels Bob Dylan’s in many ways, crucially its embrace by younger generations in the decades that followed. One of those influenced by Davis, in particular, is British saxophonist Martin Archer. Actually, to call Archer a saxophonist only is to do him a disservice. Among his many instruments, he’s a supreme composer and collaborator, creating some of the most dynamic electroacoustic jazz of the moment. Anthropology Band takes Davis’s electric phase as inspiration for a massive, gorgeous double album of the same set of compositions in two settings: first with a septet, and second with a big band featuring sixteen players in all. The core septet has Archer on saxophones and electronics, Chris Sharkey on guitar and electronics, Pat Thomas on keyboards and electronics, Corey Mwamba on vibraphone, Dave Sturt on bass, and Peter Fairclough on drums. For the seventh, and in some ways the most important seat for a Davis-inspired group, Archer features Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet and flugelhorn. Keeffe also serves as arranger, and the results of her collaboration with Archer are quite simply perfect. The septet sparkles throughout the album. Much like Douglas’s group, again it’s Sharkey and Thomas who anchor the compositions with dazzling interactions, with the added delight of Mwamba’s superb vibes. Sturt and Fairclough sit in the proverbial driver’s seat, and Keeffe and Archer blast out front with confident, catchy riffs. At sixteen players, the full ensemble set is an unleashed monster birthed from the realm of Davis’s Jack Johnson era. The addition of a nine-person winds ensemble spreads the music wide, giving a cinematic broadness to Archer and Keeffe’s chunky funk. The additional players are Kim Macari on trumpet, George Murray on trombone, Ben Higham on tuba, Mick Somerset on concert, alto and bass flutes and piccolo, Nathan Bettany on oboe and cor anglais, James Mainwaring on soprano sax, Hannah Brady on alto sax, Riley Stone-Lonergan on tenor, and Alicia Gardener-Trejo on baritone. In addition to the electronics layers heard in the septet, Archer and Keeffe stretch the full range afforded them by the instrumentation. So many artists have attempted to tackle Electric Miles™ but Archer and Keeffe go one better by inhabiting their music with the very spirit of ruthless experimentation that defined the era. - Lee Rice Epstein, FREE JAZZ COLLECTIVE  https://www.freejazzblog.org/

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Martin Archer is one very busy man. As well as running the Discus label, he seems intent on putting out album after album with various different collaborators and under numerous styles. It doesn’t feel like so very long since the Anthropology Band‘s album rose like an incredible new sun over my world and I have been living with it since, trying to put its two-and-a-half hours of instrumental odyssey into something that makes sense — and doesn’t drift into a 10,000 word treatise on why it is possibly the most expansive and fulfilling jazz-based album it has been my pleasure to sink into. - Mr Olivette, FREQ

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On this double CD, the Anthropology Band is both a septet (on CD1) and an ensemble (on CD2).  In both configurations, the band play through a set of fifteen compositions. The whole set is inspired by electric Miles. On the opening track, ‘Fiction Fraction’, I thought I could hear refrains from ‘In a silent way’, ‘Pharaohs Dance, and ‘Bitches Brew’ running through it.  Some of these were clear stated by trumpet, others implied and immediately over-written by the electronic effects and other instruments.  As the pieces develop, so the Sharkey’s wonderfully discordant guitar buzzes across the themes and the rhythm section drive a solid funk. This is reimagined electric Miles that captures the excitement of the 1970s recordings but never becomes too beholden to the quest to reproduce the ‘sound’.  Archer is too subtle a player and band-leader to do anything that simple.  Indeed, in collaboration with Keefe, he approached the ensemble versions of these compositions with the question ‘what might Bitches Brew have sounded like if Gil Evans had arranged it?’  Well, one answer to that might have sounded like the Evans various cover versions of Jimi Hendrix songs; which I feel often show how much of the electric sound Evans didn’t quite get – for me, Evans tended to hear ‘rock’ where Miles played funk (albeit heavy, electric, out-there funk).  What Archer understands is that space between (indie) rock and funk – and to which he brings his own approach to electronica.  This creates a sound that is both contemporary and true to the sounds that Miles (and Teo Macero) were working towards.  If this was a single album, the effect would be impressive and, for anyone with an interest in ‘70s Miles, well worth a listen. 

 

On the second CD, the bar is raised further, with Keefe and Archer taking the tunes from the septet and reworking them with a brass and woodwind ensemble.  For the first few tracks, the scale of the ensemble is used sparingly, almost as an echo of the saxophone lines or a means of adding spice to the keyboards as they accompany some searing guitar playing and bouncing bass lines (which are played again on the ensemble versions).  This gives a different flavour to the pieces, as if they are being played in a hall of mirrors, with the brass and woodwind reflecting and distorting the sax lines.  These pieces have a feel of contemporary classical compositions, with subtle shifting of key and careful balancing of sound between the instruments. With tracks like ‘Why so?’ or ‘Snap call / Back wall’ the power of the ensemble comes to the fore and the feeling is of a big band playing post-bop.

I like much of what Archer has been releasing in recent years, but this recording stands head and shoulders above his other recordings.  This really deserves a wide and enthusiastic audience and is highly recommended.  There is an eight piece concert band that will be touring this set early next year, and that will definitely worth seeking out. - Chris Baber, JAZZ VIEWS

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Archer is a composer who often seeks inspiration from a specific musician, period or style. This can be krautrock, progressive rock, AACM or Miles Davis, as is the case with this new two cd set. In two different line-ups, he offers interpretations of the same material: a set of fifteen compositions that are played in identical order. On the first CD, we hear a septet of Martin Archer (saxello, electronics), Charlotte Keeffe (trumpet), Chris Sharkey (guitar), Corey Mwamba (vibraphone), Pat Thomas (keyboards), Dave Sturt (bass guitar) and Peter Fairclough (drums). For the second version the ensemble is extended with brass and wind sections: Martin Archer (sopranino, tenor and baritone saxes, bass clarinet), James Mainwaring (soprano sax), Hannah Brady (alto sax), Riley Stone-Lonergan (tenor sax), Alicia Gardener-Trejo (baritone sax, bass clarinet), Mick Somerset (flutes, piccolo), Nathan Bettany (oboe, cor anglais), Charlotte Keeffe (trumpet, flugelhorn), Kim Macari (trumpet), George Murray (trombone) and Ben Higham (tuba). From the first moment, it is evident that for this project Archer is inspired by Miles Davis in his 70s electric phase. Archer composed
catchy motives and grooving vehicles that are open and loosely structured. Creating space for echoing electronics and sparse accentuations. Blues, jazz and funk are never far away. The musicians play with verve. Of course Keeffe on trumpet, the excellent drumming by Fairclough  and, above all, the great guitar interventions by Sharkey, for example in ‘People Talking Blues’. Arrangements for the extended version are by Charlotte Keeffe and Martin Archer: “Our premise for the second version was to try to imagine how Bitches Brew might have sounded arranged by Gil Evans.” This way an old dream of Archer came true: to make an album that presents compositions in two different versions. Why this dream I wondered. But whatever the reason may be, I never thought in this case that one version was enough. Both recordings satisfy and have a
lot to offer. With Miles as a starting point, Archer and his companions succeeded convincingly in creating a similar atmosphere that stands solid on its own two feet. Big fun! - Dorf Mulder, VITAL WEEKLY

 

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Martin Archer, creative hub of the Sheffield jazz/avant music scene, and main man behind Discus Music, has realised a long-held ambition with this album, presenting the same music in two strikingly different formats. The former relays the music in its “core state”, in this case a fusion septet, and the latter laying it down in the form of an orchestrated larger ensemble, with an arrangement underlining the fusion heft of the smaller grouping.

 

Anthroplogy Band, by its very name implies something human, but somehow primal, and the first septet CD gives that idea form. Using the space offered by simple bass riffs, the music goes through changes, taking in psychedelic guitar, with sax and trumpet punctuation, luminous electric piano, and bass-led vibraphonic cosmic drift.

 

The amiable piano lurch of Snap Call/Back Wall wakes us from temporary reverie, and the finger-poppin’ call and response of sax, trumpet, and squall guitar converse in strange tongues as mental fingers are clicked in time. This album centre point injects a sense of humour into proceedings, not dissimilar to what Faust used to do in another time and in another universe. It also serves to highlight the musicality on offer here, and puts to rest any fear of anything excessively outré. Martin has been known to scare the chickens, but avian peace is maintained here!

 

Just as Miles was a master of using the space between the notes to maximum effect, so we find the same methods applied here, the comedown from Snap Call… stretching through the understated balladry of the short but sweet Common Cause, and lingering within the sonorous and lithe People Talking Blues, which slowly but surely rises to the challenge, on the back of some fabulous trumpet blowing. Softly softly catchee monkey… in fact, the spacious groove continues until we arrive at the phat and funky concluding track The Wrong Stuff, a dishevelled lurch of a thing with a gloriously and intentionally messy guitar solo.

 

The big band arrangements on the second CD sees Martin’s septet compositions reimagined in tandem with trumpeter and flugelhorn player Charlotte Keeffe, with both attempting to answer the express question “what might it have sounded like if Gil Evans’ large arrangements for Miles had continued on into his electric era?”

The angry molten guitar squelch of Give Me Back Some Truth is here aided by the heavies of the orchestrations, and the added weight is carried with growing menace. There is more going on within the spaces of The Dancer and the Spark, fleeting conversations in the zoo at night. Behind Another Son becomes detective noir, but the murder weapon stubbornly refuses to be found, the arrangement is intricate, and becomes dense.

 

The repetitive Soft Machine-like bass riff of Why So? is now expanded into new territory, and its big, confident re-arrangement works just fine. And so we arrive back in the middle, where a looser, more fluid version of Snap Call/Back Wall is the order of the day, and all sorts of space fauna zooms about and happily squawks away around the big brass-and-reeds riff. The Gil Evans/Miles question of earlier has been well and truly answered.

 

Luckily for us all, Martin tells us that this music is “designed for concert performance”, and that “this band will be touring the U.K. in the new year”. Can’t wait! - Roger Trenwith, THE PROGRESSIVE ASPECT

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Martin Archer is one of the heroes of British music. He’ll be best known to some as a member of Hornweb, but having more or less renounced live playing for studio work and shepherding the eclectic Discus imprint, he has gone on a long and fascinating journey, exploring electronic music, “classical” compositions, making records with Julie Tippetts and other collaborators, and is now back in a realm that approximately fits the parameters of post-bop jazz. In terms of his instrumental and stylistic range, influence and dedication, he has some claim to be dubbed Britain’s Anthony Braxton, but less cerebral and “cool”. 

 

What we have here is basically two separate performances of a single notated piece by Archer, orchestrated for the second version in collaboration with Charlotte Keeffe. Unexpectedly, or not, Archer takes Miles Davis’s electric period as his starting point, which makes sense for the septet, but posing the ensemble players the intriguing question of what Bitches Brew would have sounded like if arranged by Gil Evans, rather than jigsawed by Teo Macero. 

 

For a time on the second CD, the ensemble seems to be doing little more than adding shadow lines to the saxophone and trumpet, but gradually the band comes together, not just expanding on the small group concept (“with orchestra”) but creating something new out of the same basic material. Wishful thinking might lead you to hear snatches of Miles music in the mix: I got a couple of earworm tags of Bitches Brew itself, but these are incidental. Archer has form with (kraut)rock, classical, ambient and just about everything in between and this represents one of his boldest and most interesting syntheses. 

 

Chris Sharkey and Peter Fairclough are key elements in the mix and the sense of constant return is hypnotic. The sections are mostly short and to the point, so there’s no question of inaccessibility and a pervasive (he’ll hate me using the word) pastoral strain keeps the urban thump in check. - Brian Morton, JAZZ JOURNAL

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Though Martin Archer's Anthropology Band readily acknowledges its debt to electric era Miles as its starting point, it quickly hurtles off into its own distinctive space.  Chris Sharkey's vivid, blazing guitar adds a fevered counterpoint to Archer's sinuous brass themes which frame much of this 2 CD set.  Gong bassist Dave Sturt adds notable definition.   - Sid Smith, PROG

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The first surprise of this album is that it is… double! And when you know the relentless talent of Martin ARCHER to produce albums of ultimate quality, it just means double helping of pleasure! Because the whole art here is to take the music of Miles DAVIS as an inspirational, technical and philosophical point of reference before attempting the adventure beyond, in the pleasure of what will be accomplished and in the pride that what will be finished.

 

Of course, only musicians in full possession of their art can follow the path of Miles DAVIS and beyond. However, by choice, but also for safety, so as not to lose either the musicians or the listener, Martin ARCHER here chooses only a straightforward method. There is always a fundamental axis in his works, an easy-to-follow melody, an omnipresent bass, an occasional signpost that makes you never feel lost in the forest of notes. 

 

However, at the same time, this landmark allows all the surrounding adventures, but pleasingly we always stay in a very musical place, it is the imperative goal. And in the nobility too. The music of Miles DAVIS was of great nobility, and Martin ARCHER never forgets that. 

 

And with Anthropology Band, Martin ARCHER shows that he does not lack ambition either, since the album, as we said, is double. Anthropology Band A implements a varied septet of musicians while Anthropology Band B relies on a larger but more structured group of instrumentalists. The result in both cases is obviously different. On the one hand the musicians improvise freely around the chosen axis, while on the other side the improvisation is more organized so that it can nevertheless be carried out with great fluidity. 

 

But in any case and on each piece, believe me, it's great Art, with a big A. - Frédéric Gerchambeau,  RYTHMES CROISES

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Five stars.  Again a creative project by Martin Archer. In this double CD, first a set (CD A) and then a wind orchestra (CD B) are active, playing the "same" music, the same songs. And so we can have two versions in one fell swoop: a great idea, ambitious and winning. The style is towards electric Miles, progressive rock, and, on some tracks, improvised modern jazz. Wide and open structures, imbued with a beautiful blues feeling, which allow those who find the inspiration to assert their expressiveness. However, it is always Miles' imprint that dominates, not least because of the pervasive presence of Charlotte Keefe's trumpet (CD A), which is joined on CD B by Kim Macari (and many other winds). Among the other more interesting aspects of the double work there is a kind of rhythmic-melodic ideé fixe, which (at least so I think) on both records crosses various tracks, (e.g. the two recordings of Behind Another Sun and Give Me Back Some Truth), acting as a glue between the tracks. The sound (also thanks to Chris Sharkey's distorted guitar timbres, Pat Thomas' acoustic and electric piano and Corey Mwamba's vibraphone) is very well-groomed and captivating. Archer's stable does not disappoint, nor does it disappoint those who, with skillful creativity, organize and guide it. - A. G. Bertinetto, KATHODIK

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An ambitious project in which Archer's compositions are played through by a septet, then re-visited by a brass and wind ensemble. Moreover, Archer starts from an intriguing position, evoking the atmospherics of In A Silent Way and, to a degree, Bitches Brew. And if that weren't layering enough, the ensemble addresses the question "what if Gil Evans has arranged electric era Miles?". So, the ensemble version of The Dancer And The Spark employs spiky brass punctuations suggesting more than it demands. Charlotte Keeffe deserves a special mention. She not only does a spendid Miles, especially on Give Me Back Some Truth, but she also finds her own voice amid the echoes of 50 years ago that Archer is keen to evoke. For good measure Keeffe co-arranged the ensemble pieces where the chamber-like use of flutes and bass clarinet contrasts with the more electronic, guitar and keys driven first album.....All credit to Archer, Keeffe and this band of young lions (Mwamba not the least) for setting themselves such a Milesian task. - Andy Robson, JAZZWISE

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Anthropology Band is a joint endeavour by Martin Archer, who composed the septet music on CD one, and trumpeter and flugelhorn player, Charlotte Keefe, who helped to compose the brass and wind ensemble version of the same fifteen part work on CD two. Version one starts in avant-garde form with Chris Sharkey’s electric guitar, Pat Thomas’s Rhodes and Corey Mwamba’s vibraphone gradually entering; Dave Sturt (well known to us through rock collaborations) on bass, and Peter Fairclough on drums. John McLaughlin immediately springs to mind in the guitarist’s approach, while the trumpet playing and overall feel is suggestive of Miles Davis’ ‘Bitches’ Brew’ and ‘Big Fun’ period. ‘The Dancer and the Spark’ reveals what a gifted trumpet player Charlotte Keefe is, with Pat Thomas adding thoughtful piano backing. There is a rock interlude on ‘Behind Another Sun’ with a memorable bass riff, splendid vibes, trumpet soaring over the electric piano chording with guitar interjections. ‘Why Say?’ has a thick layer of bass (Sturt’s bass playing throughout is amazing), Archer’s tuneful saxello building an atmosphere over shimmering vibes and electronics. ‘Concrete on Sunshine Steps’ affords space for the bass while ‘Snap Call/ Back Wall’ has an excellent strident four note electric piano motif that proves, along with the staccato guitar and saxello, that the Anthropology Band can swing with the best of them. As we progress Fairclough’s thoughtful drum work becomes more central, the expressionistic guitar giving way to trumpet again in the longest number, ‘People Talking Blues’ (10 minutes), a sleepy extemporisation, flugelhorn playing a part and, before we know it we have reached the final piece ‘The Wrong Stuff 4 U’ which is another inspired piece of jazz rock fusion with a great bass riff and fast flowing trumpet, perfectly complemented by the vibes, which plays a significant part in the music. So another eighty minutes is to come on CD two and it is intriguing to listen to how the same music reveals different characteristics with no fewer than five saxophonists, including Martin Archer, who plays soprano, tenor and baritone, as well as bass clarinet (as does Alicia Gardener-Trejo). Mick Somerset’s variety of flutes and piccolo and Nathan Bethany’s oboe and cor anglais give the music a different sound, of course, but the integrity and impact of the basic piece are both retained and enhanced in this other version, which answers the question as to why release the same piece twice with different instruments and arrangements. Central to it all is Charlotte Keefe once again, who continues to coax some amazing sounds from her trumpet and flugelhorn, and who is joined by a brass section of her own comprising another trumpet, trombone and tuba. My first instinct on listening was to listen all over again and I wasn’t disappointed. The way in which atmospheric, improvisational sections of music burst into fully-formed pieces of jazz rock, which are both memorable and infectious is a joy, and Martin Archer and his gifted accomplices have pulled off a very rare trick in producing music that is true to the spirit of free form jazz and yet features melodies (and funkiness!) rarely heard since the heady days of the birth of jazz rock fusion.  - Phil Jackson, ACID DRAGON

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In two CDs Archer works a Miles Davis groove from the Bitches Brew era, though I also drew a Herbie Hancock Mwandishi feel, and even some of Bennie Maupin's work from that era. Regardless, it hit home for me as a long-time Miles fan, but more importantly, for the musicians involved. The structure of the release presents the same Archer compositions, 15 of them, over two CDs with two groupings: a septet, and then an extended ensemble with brass and winds.

 

 

The septet version has more appeal for me personally, in a band with Martin Archer (saxello, electronics), Charlotte Keeffe (trumpet), Chris Sharkey (guitar), Corey Mwamba (vibraphone), Pat Thomas (keyboards), Dave Sturt (bass guitar) and Peter Fairclough (drums). Archer, Mwamba, Sturt and Thomas are well known to Squidco listeners, especially those with an inclination for extended rock forms. The ensemble version shows impressive arrangements that Archer worked with trumpeter and arranger Charlotte Keeffe, adding new dimensions to the music. Comparing the two releases is only one aspect of the satisfaction this set brings, and its blend of homage and modernity makes it quite compelling.

 

Inspired by the music of 70's Miles Davis electric work, composer and saxophonist Martin Archer presents 15 compositions performed in two parallel sessions over two CDs, the first in a septet that includes Corey Mwamba, Pat Thomas and Dave Sturt, and the second an extended ensemble with brass and wind sections, each bringing distinctive life to these inspired compositions. - SQUIDCO

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The most unusual use of a large ensemble however is a two-CD set by the Anthropology Band (Discus 90 CD). On the first disc a septet of mostly rhythm instruments interprets British saxophonist Martin Archer’s 15-part suite. On the second CD 10 brass-and-woodwind players, with Archer and trumpeter/flugelbornist Charlotte Keeffe the only holdovers, add carefully arranged tonal extensions to the same pieces. The upshot is two vastly dissimilar variations. Awash with Pat Thomas’ shaking keyboard inflections, Corey Mwamba’s crafty vibraphone accents, plus interconnecting rhythm stabilization from drummer Peter Fairclough and bass guitarist Dave Sturt, the effervescent first program vamps along with space made for slurry half-valve effects from Keeffe and waves of corkscrew multiphonics from Archer. Even as the theme is shattered with brief solos, a repetitive ostinato is maintained with shuffle drum beats and chunky guitar twangs from Chris Sharkey. While forceful beats also keep the sequences spiraling with blues-jazz-rock affiliations, a snowflake sprinkle of vibe resonation and moderated flugelhorn fluttering maintain a lyrical centre. The swinging finale emphases both currents with aggressive drum beats and distorted guitar runs as prominent as melodic Gabriel-styled trumpet blasts. Adding nine additional players transforms the suite. Evolving at a swifter pace, intertwined horn textures and solos fill in the spaces left by echoing bass lines and guitar splatters. With the subsequent sonic fullness taking on more obvious pastoral effects via orchestral instruments like Mick Somerset’s bubbly flutes. Later though, before altissimo reed screams and brassy emphasis make interpretations overly cacophonous, tracks are rhythmically grounded with logical forward motion. This strategy is most obvious on “People Talking Blues” as shaking keyboard riffs and pointed guitar frails are subordinated by Nathan Bettany’s nasal oboe tones and Keeffe’s mellow flugelhorn until the rhythm unveils a cymbal clashing climax. For that point on, the narratives rebound between sympathetic horn input including the trumpets’ bugle-like pitches and five-part reed section harmonies on one hand and a hypnotic bass guitar beat and chugging percussion on the other. With whistling horn slurs and stutters, frailing guitar licks and intensified tremolos from the rhythm section, the orchestral version of the concluding “The Wrong Stuff for You” is infused with the same equilibrium between rhythm and refinement as the septet variation. A mature demonstration of how expanded instrumental groups can illuminate and intensify a musical program is illustrated not only on this disc but on the others as well. - Ken Waxman, JAZZ WORD.  http://www.jazzword.com/one-review/?id=130266

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Anthropology Band marks Martin Archer‘s latest foray into the lands beyond the oft-cannibalistic realm of contemporary jazz. I was previously enchanted by Vestigium, one of his collaborations with Julie Tippetts, and still use it as an antidote to accusations that there’s no new music anymore. Unusually perhaps, for such a progressive composer, this project has a nostalgic tint, gazing back at the halcyon days of Miles Davis’ electric period circa Bitches Brew. However, this take on that milestone occurs in a parallel dimension where arranger Gil Evans, not producer Teo Macero, served as Davis’ key collaborator.

 

Lest one be tempted to anticipate a pastiche or worse, a tribute, aside from the odd passing resemblance (guitarist Chris Sharkey does a good turn as John McLaughlin; trumpeter Charlotte Keeffe as Miles), Anthropology Band is not about historical re-enactment but of analysing the play of variables such as group format. Archer presents two versions of the composition: 1) a septet (control group) and 2) an orchestra, which makes Anthropology Band an authentically experimental work. Even the title is redolent of scientific enquiry.

 

Also striking is the force of the septet, which rocks, swings and takes flight in roughly equal measures. The music is notated and often bass-driven, yet loosely structured enough to allow ample room for soloing – guitar pyrotechnics being a specialty. While the set loosely adopts the Bitches Brew jazz fusion formula, it’s reminiscent of contemporary equivalents like John Zorn’s Electric Masada, which augmented his free jazz/klezmer fusion quartet with abstract electronics and hard-rock grooves. Although never so raucous, Anthropology is a high octane vehicle of its own with a steady clip of flighty highlights. Yet even when the pace slows, as on the simmering ‘Fire on 88th’ (all rolling bass and liquid trumpet), the mood(iness) never lets up.

 

The second disc drops the energy of the septet to address the Gil Evans question and the results are suggestive of a number of possible musical directions; soundtrack for one. Keeffe reprises her role here as trumpeter and co-orchestrated the pieces with Archer, which effectively makes her the project’s Davis and Evans. This signals a significant departure in sound as well, making this the less immediate of the two versions. As the jazz fusion element shifts from rock to classical, there are hints of sluggishness under the weight of so many participants, leaving a sense that the orchestra is but a (stationary) vehicle for the jazzier pyrotechnics. However, it does work up a good head of steam before long. ‘Behind Another Sun’ is a particularly bracing fusion of contrasting tendencies – nimble bass balanced with coordinated stabs of brass. All told, it’s a fascinating point of comparison and sibling to the septet version.

 

 

As with most of Archer’s work, Anthropology Band is a refreshing proposition for tired ears and the Miles mythos alike – so much so that this project saw Archer removed from the studio to which he’d long since retired to undertake a short tour earlier this year (ironically, shortly before the current lockdown began). While I sense that this project satisfies Archer’s curiosity regarding the Gil Evans question, I wonder whether there’s further mileage to be drawn from this niche? What if Teo Macero had produced Kind of Blue, perhaps? – Stuart Marshall, SOUND PROJECTOR http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2020/04/19/watch-that-man/

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Ambitious two CD set featuring two ensembles, a septet and a brass & wind ensemble. The septet consists of Martin Archer on saxello & electronics, Charlotte Keeffe on trumpet & flugelhorn, Chris Sharkey on guitar, Pat Thomas on piano, Fender Rhodes & electronics, Corey Mwamba on vibes, Dave Sturt on bass guitar and Peter Fairclough on drums. I’ve listened to more than a dozen discs with Martin Archer as the leader or co-leader and keeps surprising me. He seems to play different reeds and/or keyboards on each project, excelling at whatever reed he chooses. Here he plays a saxello, one of the rarest of saxes and one which was made popular by the late Softs saxist Elton Dean. I do recognize about half of this septet: Pat Thomas from his work with Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne and Lol Coxhill; vibist Corey Mwamba from a few recent releases with Paul Dunmall, the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra and with Ntshuks Bonga & Andy Champion; drummer Peter Fairclough has been around longer playing well with Keith Tippett, Paul Dunmall & Mike Westbrook. I don’t know much about the other three other than this: Charlotte Keeffe worked with Alex Ward; Chris Sharkey plays with TrioVD and The Geordie Approach and Dave Sturt is in the current version of Gong and plays with Theo Travis.

Each of the two discs features the same 15 songs, each disc features the septet or the brass & wind ensemble. The septet if featured on the first disc and boy, do they sound great! Very ‘Bitches Brew’ like, vibewise. The two horns, saxello & trumpet, use just the right amount of Milesian echo to give this a sly, early seventies electric jazz sound. Guitarist Chris Sharkey sounds great in the John McLaughlin position, perhaps sounding closer to Terje Rypdal or Sonny Sharrock!?! The music here is suite-like and flows one piece into the next. “The Dancer and The Spark” is a sublime duo for flugelhorn and piano that feels just right. “Behind Another Sun” is another great Miles-like piece featuring super trumpet, electric guitar, vibes and a slamming rhythm team! Pat Thomas on Fender Rhodes & electronics is a great choice, since he really does get that early seventies pre-fusion electric keyboard sound. Another great piece with a slamming rhythmic groove is called, “Snap Call/Back Wall”, which has a space groove so greasy, it will definitely get you off your chair and onto whatever dance-floor is available! All members of the septet get their chance to stretch out. Ms. Keeffe plays a long, spirited solo on “People Talking Blues”, which is followed by another tasty jazz/rock guitar solo by Mr. Sharkey. - Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery

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The result is truly epochal and in ine with to the original character of the music it either resembles a jazz bigband or a burst of contemporary classical music. This hokus-try came out at number one with five stars.  – Petr Slaby, HisVoice 

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After Martin Archer single-handedly recorded "Another Fantastic Individual" the busy Englishman re-recorded a second album in the same year, and the same thing is again a real band affair. A septet is active here, the Anthropology Band (?), dominated by the blower (sax and trumpet), dynamically driven by the rhythm department, and tonal complemented by all kinds of electric guitar sounds, vibraphone and various electronic sounds.

Archer has a colourful jazz rock on offer here, inspired by the electronic fusion phase of a Miles Davis around 1970. At least when the trumpet dominates the action, this comparison is obvious. Otherwise, instrumental Canterburyprog is never so far away here, or jazzy-progressive tone painting in the spirit of the 70s, supplemented by a few jazzy duets and solo inserts, or free-improvised sound crafting. For this purpose, it often circulates and hisses electronically in the background, which gives the music its own character, even if one has to state of course that there is little to hear here, which one does not already know well from the genre. But it's all done excellently.

 

Quite typical Archer music is thus offered on "Anthropology Band", modern in sound, but with clear sources of inspiration, very varied, dynamic and virtuosic. If you appreciate classical jazz rock, Canterbury-related and instrumental improvisations between jazz, rock and prog, that's right here. Compared to many other recent publications of Archer, it is usually quite melodic, relaxed and rocky, hardly any improvisations brand 'squeaky door' can be seen.

 

That's not all. "Anthropology Band" is a double CD, and on the second Silberling there is the material again, but supplemented by a wind ensemble. There is a lot of sheet metal on the ears here, also flute sounds and a lot of pipe leaf tones. The jazzy-rocky foundation is the same, but it was extended by all kinds of wind slots and arrangements, which provided a certain orchestral-jazzy big band sound. Those who really appreciate blowers will be able to enjoy these versions. For me personally, the slimmer, more electronic and rockier version on CD1 would have been enough. Taste.

 

 - Achim Breiling  http://www.babyblaue-seiten.de/album_19158.html#oben

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At Cafe Oto the Anthropology Band showed how wondrously electric and acoustic sounds can gel so creatively and with such acerbic unity. Martin Archer’s searing soprano and guttural tenor saxophone; Pat Thomas’s nonplussing keyboards; the combined electric guitars of Chris Sharkey and Anton Hunter; Dave Sturt’s pulsating bass guitar: Orphy Robinson’s pounding mallets: the cascades of Adam Fairclough’s drums and the visceral, breathy vibrato of the trumpet and flugelhorn of Charlotte Keeffe. It was a timbral stew to be earnestly savoured. Built upon the inspirational memories of Miles Davis’s 1960s and 1970s electric ensembles, this band went several steps beyond On Give Me Back Some Truth, there were sudden changes of rhythm and speed as Thomas switched from piano to electric keyboard beside the maelstrom of Keeffe’s respiring choruses and Sharkey’s clanging volleys; a Niagara of notes and beautiful discord in the heart of London’s cosmos. - Chris Searle, live review MORNING STAR

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