Phil Robson - The Immeasurable Code (Live) (2011)

Phil Robson's IMS (Instant Message Service) Quintet, featuring the iconic NYC-based saxophonist Mark Turner, were captured live during their inaugural January 2011 European tour. All but two of the tracks on The Immeasurable Code have been composed by the award-winning guitarist Robson, based around the concept of communication methods- ancient to modern- with titles referencing this such as 'Telegram', 'Telepathy & Transmission', 'Fire & The Drum', 'The Instant Message' and 'The Net'. The album also features a joint composition by Robson and bassist Michael Janisch, as well as Phil's cunning arrangement of that delightful form of communication 'Happy Talk' by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The music was commissioned by Derby Jazz (a non-profit jazz consortium based in Derby, England where Phil is from) in the autumn of 2010 and Phil wrote the music with this combination of musicians in mind, conceived specifically to play with Mark Turner again, as well as with his favorite contemporaries Michael Janisch and Gareth Lockrane plus a new associate in Ernesto Simpson, in an intimate, small-group setting. These are musicians with whom he knew could develop a quick rapport around the challenging compositions.

Phil first met Turner in 1998 when both appeared together on Christine Tobin's Deepsong and have since played together on several other occasions. Mark has garnered enormous respect over the years and is considered internationally as an outstanding musician.

The band gelled instantly and within a few concerts sounded as though it had been together for years, with each player having enough space in the compositions to bring their unique qualities to the overall sound, a consistent feature of Robson's approach over the years with his other bands including 'Partisans' and '6 Strings & The Beat'. The compositions reflect the breadth of Robson's experience & influences, made cohesive by the depth of feeling of the pieces and playing, with a love of groove at the center. The album also contains some rarely captured (and outstanding) examples of Turner playing the soprano sax as well as, of course, his formidable searing tenor playing.

Phil Robson - guitars & compositions
Mark Turner - soprano & tenor saxophones
Gareth Lockrane - flutes
Michael Janisch - double bass
Ernesto Simpson - drums