Partisan Ship
Berthold, 2026
9/10
The Brooklyn pianist, improviser, and composer, Phillip Golub, pens an experimental jazz album, where plenty of help surrounds his iconoclastic vision.
The vibrant and unpredictable “Loyalty Oath” starts the listen with Amir ElSaffar’s atypical trumpet stabs adding much to the complex climate, and “Interlude (Aboard)” follows with a quick bout of ambience that seems nearly like field recordings from another dimension.
“Mutiny Meeting” occupies the middle spot and injects beeps and buzzing amid Sam Minaie’s frisky bass, while “Interlude (Adrift)” carries a sci-fi spirit via the ominous backdrop and various noise makers.
Deeper still, “Cries Of The Initiated” blends Yuma Uesaka’s strategic winds into the atypical melodies and odd time signatures, and “Afterword: Partisan Session” exits with Jon Starks’ well timed drums that complement the swirling, cinematic dynamics.
Golub’s fusion and free jazz mashing sure is exciting, where each track is written in its own tuning system and somehow seems rooted in the past and future by way of its own distinct, unclassifiable reality.
Travels well with: Christopher Dammann- Christopher Dammann Sextet; Kee Avil- Crease