Michael Janisch - Paradigm Shift [CD]

Some four years in gestation, the ambitious double-disc project 'Paradigm Shift' from London-based US bassist, composer and producer Michael Janisch sees the Whirlwind Recordings founder enter the spotlight with his multi-level approach to composition and performance.

On 'Paradigm Shift' Janisch has taken as its basis a live quintet recording across two nights at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, crafting and honing it into an absorbing 90-minute blend of live and post-processed electro-acoustic music. It's a particularly creative compositional vision which strongly reflects the bassist's personality, hewn from years of improvisational development and based on his own life-changing experiences, in particular the recent birth of his two daughters and sudden death of his older brother Joseph. The soundscapes he creates, meld electronica, free improve, rock, punk and funk yet retaining experimental and improvisational integrity throughout.

Predominantly a quintet album with engaging solo and duo interludes and segues, Michael Janisch could hardly have selected a more cohesive and eclectic personnel to realise his artistic intentions: versatile British saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist (including didgeridoo) Paul Booth; leading US trumpeter Jason Palmer (from Janisch's 2010 solo debut, 'Purpose Built'); free-spirited Argentinian piano/keyboard whizz Leonardo Genovese; and the sensitive precision of US drummer Colin Stranahan. Plus, the impulsive electronics of the London-based Alex Bonney feature on interlude tracks.

Janisch has become one of the foremost, genuine, upright/electric bassist bandleaders of the current scene, and it's testament to the invention of this strong sextet that the essence of this impressive double album was captured over just two straight nights of live performance.

Personnel: Michael Janisch (double and electric basses, percussion, live & post production electronics and effects), Paul Booth (tenor saxophone