Full Turn

I like it when the title of an album makes me think. About its meaning and the thoughts it provokes, and about how the title is related to what I get to hear. Where would the world not be turning? What is it like to be at a point that is void of all motion? Nothing turning, nothing revolving around anything, nothing eclipsing anything, the order of things in suspension, in balance.

The obvious reference would be T. S. Eliot. No, I didn’t know that. But you know who knew. AI. The thing that makes things turn even faster. The advantage being here that I didn’t need days of rotation to understand that these words are from a poem called “Burnt Norton” which is the first of “Four Quartets”, published 90 years ago.

If you have a few minutes to spare at the still point of a turning day, read it. Especially if all that turning has resulted a noticeable amount of weariness. At the still point of the turning world, “past and future are gathered”, there is “neither movement from nor towards, neither ascent nor decline”. Imagine: “The inner freedom from the practical desire, the release from action and suffering, release from the inner and outer compulsion, yet surrounded by a grace of sense.”

Ah. We may not be poets, we may not be able to find the right words, but we know the feeling, sensing the things that are turning in all kinds of directions, mostly disconcerting ones, frightening ones, how we feel abandoned in all that turning, not as individuals, as groups or even nations, but as the population of our planet, kept off-balance in a blurring motion of practical desire, of action and suffering, sensing that there are a few out there, outside of all that turning, who just keep increasing the speed. We know what that point is that Eliot refers to.

A point of clarity, of perception, of transcendence. A different state of being, detached from all the turning. I read somewhere that at the exact center of our planet, we’re not turning anymore, but I wondered. Maybe we’re not turning in a circle around some kind of center, but the center itself is turning, if only in one and the same spot, forever. And that spot is still turning, around the sun, and within a spiraling galaxy. No. The still point is in our minds.

As in the minds of the gentlemen that recorded this album. Their world has been turning as well, and judging from what we hear on “At The Still Point Of The Turning World”, they have completed their own turn, as a group. Over the course of their first four albums and a timespan of fifteen years, they went through a full metamorphosis from an Electronic Jazz project to a proper Jazz formation, from two guys in a studio to a six piece outfit, back in 2021 when “Dreams Of The Revelator” was released.

Four years later, “At The Still Point Of The Turning World” feels like it completes that turn. Simon Sixsmith is heading the project since day one, producing the albums and working on electronics and a handful of instruments, Coen Kaledway (as always in charge of reeds) is the other co-founder, Bob Roos (drums) and Lucas Dols (bass) joined on the second album, Teus Nobel (brass) on album number three, and Daan Herweg (keys) hopped on board in 2021. Lucky number seven on this album is Harald van de Sanden on guitar.

It may not seem like a big change, adding a seventh member, but – it’s a guitar. And even if it may seem like a Rock music cliché, an electric guitar adds to the overall impression of a group of musicians being a band. Plus, it does offer a whole range of new opportunities. As in “Off The Shoulder Of Orion”, a track that features slick wah-wah action and a guitar solo.

I read in a Belgian Jazz magazine that the members of the band had watched movies like Dirty Harry, Death Wish, and Trouble Man between jams, getting into the feel of the soundtracks and the moods of these films. Reportedly, this is how the idea of adding electric guitar first came up, why the double bass was swapped for an electric one, and why the sound of the keys took a turn back in time, over to the cool and warm sounds of a Rhodes.

The golden moments on this album happen when the band is able to transport us to a 70s Jazz Funk jam session, as in “Nine Miles Of Bad Road”. A crafty beat, both tricky and loose, tons of great solo action – it’s easy to imagine all of this happening on a small stage in a place and time that still allowed folks to smoke at a concert, sitting at tables, and it’s one of those tracks that will have the guests that were chatting with their dates redirect their attention towards what’s happening on the stage.

One of the most remarkable things about this album (and its predecessors, come to think of it) is the homogeneity of the band. Everyone gets a good amount of moments to shine, everyone on a equally high level – it’s elegant, classy and finely balanced teamwork among a group of friends that seems to share a lot of mutual appreciation. A still point in itself.

Sometimes it seems as if Teus Nobel’s trumpet is a tiny little bit more of a hero – but whenever he dazzles us with a solo, one of his teammates takes over, and they always rise to the challenge, no matter whether it’s a band veteran or the new guy on guitar. Best example here: “Nobody Calls Me Mister With My Boots Off”, which also gets the grand prize for creativity in song titles.

There’s a tiny little interlude towards the end of the album, “Motherfuckers”, just 43 seconds of pure Coen Kaldeway with a bit of support from Lucas Dols, and it almost feels like some of the vibe of “LM6iX” had been translated to the new format of Black Gold 360. Felt good, somehow, and provided a nice break from the very even flow of album. I wouldn’t have minded one or two more of these playful breaks.

Now – how does this album relate to the still point of a turning world? How does it relate to the worlds of the listeners, and those of the musicians? I can only imagine what it must be like, keeping a project like Black Gold 360 up and running while the world keeps turning at ever increasing speeds. Naturally, they all have other projects and professions, and I wouldn’t be surprised if working on this album had felt like being exactly at that point – the world spinning uncontrollably outside, the band at a still point in the studio and, to quote T. S. Eliot again, released from the inner and outer compulsion, yet surrounded by a grace of sense.

It’s also a great way to enjoy this album. Play it in full, let the timeless vibe release you too, keep the omnipresent tech out of reach, have a really good drink, and be cool. Welcome to the still point of the turning world.

Release for review:
BLACK GOLD 360 – AT THE STILL POINT OF THE TURNING WORLD – FIFTY DOLLAR RECORDS – 50DR13

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