Phi-Psonics - New Pyramid (Gondwana)

Phi-Psonics hail from Los Angeles and are led by upright bass playing Seth Ford-Young, and featuring Sylvain Carton on flutes, Randal Fisher's sax playing, Mitchell Yoshida on Wurlitzer, and Josh Collazo on drums as the core members, although I count another eleven musicians credited making various appearances on the recording. Fortunately they've managed to avoid California's descent into uber capitalism and have tapped into the West Coast rich history of higher plain seeking spiritual jazz, and don't we all need some of that these days?

A new LP for their well matched label home Gondwana is on the way and "New Pyramid" is the first single to pave the way for its May 23rd arrival, and I'm intrigued. Apart from a few heavier cuts on Cradle, the group tend towards a somewhat smoother jazz sound, albeit imbued with Ford's ever present spiritual inclinations, whereas "New Pyramid" has found a pleasing middle ground.

The drums are that bit more urgent, digging deeper into jazz's African roots, and combined with Ford's stellar bass work create quite the groove for the sax and flute lines to ask all the difficult questions before plunging into the universal consciousness looking for answers, whilst Yoshida alternates his electric piano playing between cosmic textures and scurrying, urgent improvisation. It's a profound addition to the spiritual jazz continuum, and intriguingly it's the penultimate track on quite a lengthy LP, so I can't wait to hear what comes before.

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Playlist Companion:

Find Phi-Sonics adding some spiritual vibes to the Slow Jazz Playlist.