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Pat Thomas - The Elephant Clock of Al Jazari

 

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Compared to instruments like the violin or the saxophone, the piano lacks that type of expressivity  that comes from the direct contact of the strings to the fingers or the reed to the mouth. The keys of the piano make it a remote controlled instrument. All the greatest pianists of history has had to transcend that condition, to find a way to manipulate the notes so that they become full of details, personal touch and feeling. Pat Thomas is truly one of those greats, who has tackled that challenge to the extreme. The power of his touch is something which blows you away. You can hardly believe the sounds you hear coming out of the piano when he plays.

Musically you find yourself torn between the sublimely beautiful and the brutal, almost grotesque, when listening to this record. These brutal actions are beautiful in themselves, because they're motivated by the story Thomas is telling in his music. To listen to this record is a heavy and deep experience, not something to be taken lightly. Having said that, it’s also not a serious and boring experience. This record is full of hilarious and weird moments that complements the deep, serious feeling throughout the record, and thus creates a very unique atmosphere. Thomas is working with malleability, morphing areas into different areas, while the listener is hardly aware of these transformations. When listening, you become entranced with everything you hear and the changes in direction only become (somewhat) clear in hindsight. After listening, it’s almost as if waking up from a dream.

Thomas takes the inflexible piano and makes it flexible. You feel that each note has a life of its own, and can take all types of direction. Every aspect of his playing is rich in detail, his use of dynamics, his phrasing, his timing, his sense of form. He tends to explore certain areas for longer periods of time, but these areas aren’t restricted. It always feels like Thomas is utilising his freedom without any borders even when he stays within a smaller area for a long stretch. Each of these areas become a multi-dimensional world of its own.

There is a heavy tension that runs as a common thread through this record. The listener is suspended in intense anticipation of what will come, after having been subjected to intensely meditative moments sharply contrasted by very extreme changes in dynamics and violent actions. In small moments, the tension is lifted and the listener gets a moment of relief. It’s like waking up from the dream for a moment and then going into it again. One is swept away again and continues the intense journey. The tracks tend to end in ways we’re not used to, like in the middle of a climactic moment. Again this is adding to the tension and intrigue for the listener.

The ending track seems to sum up everything. You’re thrown into different areas which are reminiscent of the boogie woogie, of Thelonious Monk, of Peter Ablinger (maybe?), but always 100% Pat Thomas.

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