Paul Bryan

Western Electric

Self-released

Paul Bryan is a Grammy-winner, producer, composer, arranger, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. He’s made records with Aimee Mann and Elvis Costello but is more often associated with genre- blurring artists such as Jeff Parker Josh Johnson, or Jeremy Cunningham. He’s toured with headlining acts, but as he did on his solo outing, 2020’s Cri$sel Gems, Western Electric is a genre-defying, experimental foray. It’s rendered by Bryan (bass. VSS, drum programming, mellotron, MS-20), Josh Johnson (alto saxophone, electronics, electric piano), and Jay Bellerose (drums, percussion). Special guest Alexandra Heird is on drums and vocals for one track. Influences and inspirations are all over this record, principally Bryan’s Holy Trinity of bassists (naturally from three different genres) Steve Swallow, Ashton “Family Man” Barrett, and Jerry Jemmott.  Also at the heart of the record is Sonny Rollins’s landmark Way Out West, which pioneered the chordless saxophone trio, which this loosely adheres to (Bryan does use keyboards and electronics). Western Electric is the name of Bryan’s Los Angeles studio where the initial sketches of the album were composed on a Yamaha VSS keyboard, essentially a limited two-octave keyboard and an outdated drum machine. Once the core tracks were developed, he invited Bellerose and Johnson to round them out.

Opener “Ethervane” plays to a start-stop, off kilter rhythm with the VSS and distorted electric bass lines leading the way, moving toward a salaciously funky vibe. Johnson enters on “Family Man,” a reverb-laden dub vibe laid down by Bryan nodding to the Wailers bass legend, yet it is far from an ostensibly reggae tune, especially as a weird electronic blend holds sway in the second half of the piece. Johnson improvises freely on “Jazz Bass,” named for Bryan’ s bass line which hinges two drum tracks filtered into the mix. “Berlin” reads more like a psychedelic ballad, void of the groove-laden drive of the previous pieces, centered on chiming keys, and electronics with short bursts alternating with floating lines from Johnson. Like so many of these, it thrives on the unexpected twists and turns, closing with rhythmic riffs. “Pascoal’s Wager” also ebbs and flows with surprising textures as Bryan nods to Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal without offering overtly recognizable Brazilian strains. While these are more fully conceived, “workingthankyousolid,” which begins like bebop on steroids, is the result of studio gadgetry and loose experimentation as it’s the drumming debut of Alexandra Heird, Bryan’s wife assistant, not a drummer or vocalist by profession yet she offers both.

“Mise en Abyme” couples ethereal electronics with a sturdy electric bassline, setting a backdrop for Johnson to improvise imaginatively on his alto, as Bellerose works kinetically to keep it moving in one of the more jazz centric tracks, yet its second section delves into fuzzier electronic realms over the insistent beats. “Bon Jemmott,” a lusty bass-drum duet, is rather obviously a brief nod to Jerry Jemmott while the brief electronica-infused “Respira Lento” sets up the album’s best track, “August and the Colonel.” It’s a dreamy, shimmering, melancholy piece in honor of Bryan’s late father, with Johnson blowing fervently but far more restrained than on others to a definitive close. While that piece seems perfectly suited as an album closer, the ever-unpredictable Bryan serves up the bass-drum duet “Black Rock.”

This is one is purposely hard to peg because Bryan keeps the listener guessing. If you’re up for that kind of journey, have at it.

• Jim Hynes

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