Phil Broadhurst Quintet - Panacea (2015)

This new album from Phil Broadhurst is the third instalment in what he loosely describes as his 'Dedication Trilogy'. Where Delayed Reaction celebrated the life and career of Michel Petrucciani, and Flaubert's Dance paid homage to a number of the artists who have influenced his writing and performing (from Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett to Many Katché, Elaine Elias and Tomaz Stanko), the music on Panacea springs from the often-unconscious influences that form the building blocks of a composition. Phil says that these derive not only from the wide jazz landscape explored in his radio programme “The Art of Jazz”, but also from experiences arising from playing and teaching.

"A piano student noted that Precious Metal was clearly influenced by Horace Silver due to the shuffle groove, the use of parallel minor major 7 chords, and the fact that we had recently examine Silver’s music in the Composition class. This, I was completely unaware of until it was pointed out. Absent Friends began as an experiment in writing a melody that can be adapted easily into a different time signature: in this case the A section in 6/4 is repeated, but in 5/4. This piece is dedicated to a number of NZ jazz musicians I’ve had the pleasure of working with who have passed away in recent years like Beaver and Tony Hopkins. Panacea is a tribute to a fine exponent of jazz-fusion, the late guitarist Martin Winch. The tune is named after the band I co-led with him in the late 70s. Inverted refers to a pedal point, usually played in the bass, transferred to a higher register and acting as a pivot for shifting harmonies. Here the pedal note is echoed by electric guitar. Pukeko becomes an homage to Jimmy Rowles’ classic jazz ballad “The Peacocks”, a connection realised only after the tune was completed, while Knee Lever refers to a component of Neil Watson’s newly acquired pedal steel guitar. Japanese Shadows is adapted from a theme written for my son Cameron’s film of the same name."