“A wonderful journey beginning to end.” – Peter Thelen, EXPOSÉ
“Really original stuff, embracing space and delicate textures, alongside powerful heavy beats and electronic laden walls of sound with equal conviction. A fantastic record.” – Bandcamp UK Jazz & Improvised Music
“There is a certain, joyous, early prog-like vibe here that I like. – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery NYC
Dee Byrne (alto sax, fx)
Chris Sharkey (guitar, fx)
Michael Bardon (bass guitar, fx)
Johnny Hunter (drums, fx)
Anton Hunter (additional guitar and fx, Part IV)
Composition by Johnny Hunter
Recorded by Chris Sharkey at Eiger Studios, Leeds
Produced by Chris Sharkey
The latest release from Johnny Hunter, Manchester-based composer, drummer and improviser, sees a return to his Post-Rock roots. Having played throughout the early 2000s with the band Leda Atomica (influences including Mogwai, Tortoise and Godspeed You! Black Emperor) before moving into Jazz and Free Improvisation, the influence of Post-Rock has never been far from his compositional voice, in particular the use of drone-based soundscapes, angular textures and bass riffs, but Now It Can Be Told is explicitly returning to his early influences. Hunter employs the talents of Chris Sharkey (Trio VD, Roller Trio) on guitar and in the role of producer, Dee Byrne (Outlines, MoonMot) on alto sax and Mick Bardon (Shatner’s Bassoon) on bass guitar. All members also utilise effects, including Hunter, who has developed a hybrid acoustic drum kit-electonics setup.
This piece, in a previous incarnation, has been performed at the Liverpool International Jazz Festival and at London’s Kings Place, with John Fordham calling it “an imaginative set of 21st-century bebop mixed with electronic echoes” (The Guardian, June 2016).
Drummer Johnny Hunter has played on more than a dozen discs including projects run by Martin Archer and Ron Caines. Saxist Dee Byrne I know from a band called Ydivide with a disc out on Intakt. Guitarist Chris Sharkey has worked with Pat Thomas, Shiver, the Geordie Approach and other projects by Martin Archer. Bassist Michael Bardon can also be found on a half dozen different Discus CD’s by Martin Archer, Ron Caines and Hi Res Heart. “Part 1” opens and it is the longest piece here. It starts with a suspenseful throbbing bass line and soon breaks into a King Crimson like prog sound with the guitar and sax playing their lines tightly together. After that great opening riff, the quartet calms down to a more spacious vibe. Over the long run, both alto saxist Dee Byrne and guitarist Chris Sharkey do a fine job of trading licks with the tight, solid el bass & drums providing a solid jazz/rockin’ undertow. This long piece keeps building as the tempo and intensity increases. This section reminds me of the great jazz/rock sound that sections of the first King Crimson had yet without the large bombast. In the last section of “Part 1”, the pace is still slow & eerie at first, soon the quartet break into a strong, hypnotic prog/jazz/rock riff. I like the way the sax, guitar and even drums use subtle eerie effects to make the music a bit more mysterious and spaced out. This piece is an epic-length piece which goes through various successfully connected sections. “Part II” is another slower, moody, more moderate paced piece with the guitar and sax playing tightly around one another. In some ways, this quartet sounds like jazz/rock when it was still fresh in the early 1970’s, before the chops-oriented fusion took over the airwaves. Both guitarist Chris Sharkey and alto saxist Dee Byrne take a number of inspired solos without resorting to any histrionics. “Part 4” was remixed and has a more haunting, simmering, effects-laden sound. The vibe is like a somewhat darker, dream-like haze, like the calm dawn after a storm has passed through our village. There is a certain, joyous, early prog-like vibe here that I like quite a bit which recalls the music scene a half century past. – Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery NYC
British drummer Johnny Hunter primarily gained attention with his post-rock group Leda Atomica, but he is also extremely active in improvisation circles. Along with guitarist and producer Chris Sharkey, alto saxophonist Dee Byrne, and bassist Michael Bardon, he connects to his own past, albeit with more pronounced influences from free improvisation and even prog. This translates to vicious electric shocks, abrupt tempo changes, drawn-out guitar and sax parts, and brooding soundscapes coupled with skillfully crafted silences that heighten the tension. As is fitting, there are only long pieces (four in total) ranging from seven to twenty-six minutes. Hunter converted his drum kit to incorporate electronic components. Incidentally, all the other band members also make avid use of FX.
Somewhere between Antoine Pierre’s VAAGUE, releases from Moonjune Records, and live recordings by Soft Machine. – Georges Tonla Briquet, JAZZHALO https://www.jazzhalo.be/reviews/cdlpk7-reviews/various/discus-a-grande-fam%C3%ADlia/
Johnny Hunter is a British drummer and composer, active on the avant jazz scene for about a dozen years now, and a regular on many recordings on Discus music. He leads the Johnny Hunter Quartet, though I first became aware of him as a member of the Ron Caines / Martin Archer Axis on their 2024 release Practical Dreamers. With this latest release, Now It Can Be Told, Hunter is joined by Dee Byrne (alto sax), Chris Sharkey (guitar), and Michael Bardon (bass guitar), with Anton Hunter offering some additional guitar on the album’s final track. Make no mistake, this is a 55 minute continuum of all-electric heavy jazz improvisation, split into four long tracks mostly for convenience: “Now It Can Be Told” parts I, II, III and IV. But don’t be fooled by the opening — after fourteen minutes of heavy wailing on part I, it suddenly gets very quiet with a percussion and bass duet, only to pick up with all of the other players again after a few minutes and conclude this monstrous 26-minute opener. All of the players turn in some amazing performances throughout, getting completely airborne at times. As far as what parts are composed and what remains for improvisational interpretation, one can hear some recurring themes that the group returns to periodically, before jumping off into the abyss again and finding their way through some edgy countercurrents, seemingly all by design. Parts III and IV are essentially a single track with no break titled “Now It Can Be Told – Part lll / Part lV: Little One (remix by Nor Hate Thy Nun),” although it seems just as wild and crazy as the rest, with the additional guitars and electronics adding plenty of glorious punch and beautiful chaos in that closing section, topped off with a memorable alto sax solo. A wonderful journey beginning to end. – Peter Thelen, EXPOSÉ http://expose.org/index.php/articles/display/johnny-hunter-now-it-can-be-told-3.html
“Originally written for the JOHNNY HUNTER QUARTET, the piece was performed at various stages of development, without ever fully achieving my vision. I realized that it simply wasn’t the ideal lineup to perform this music (it required an electric guitar loaded with effects!), so I formed a new group with Dee BYRNE, Michael BARDON, and Chris SHARKEY.”
Part 1 – A masterpiece of dynamics exploring new modes of expression, deepening the development of new sounds, timbres and ways of sustaining notes. Inspired writing which revives the saxophone of John COLTRANE, played by one of his virtuoso heirs, Dee BYRNE.
Delicate percussion sways proudly with the wind blown by the alto saxophone and understated electronic effects offer an aspect of
freshness and naturalness. The saxophone playing is in perfect harmony with the orchestral ensemble, a joyful, energetic performance from the rhythm section and its electronic effects.
Alliances of new, distinctive timbres from the keyboards and guitars breathe grandeur into the long, expansive meditations of the saxophone and the orchestra is brimming with intensely moving tension.
Part 2 – A piece of very distinct sound effects and delicate percussion, pulsating beyond the formal framework, reshaping modern jazz
in the style of Johnny Hunter. A difficult compromise to achieve these days in this highly coveted field of avant-garde improvisation
-crowded. A warm dimension, gilded by the captivating saxophone.
Part 3 / Part 4: Little One (remix by Nor Hate Thy Nun) – An enigmatic, disconcerting fresco with a subtle orchestral sound at the beginning of the piece, adorned with the most imperceptible tremors of cymbals – light percussive drums, confusing electronic effects becoming saturated, a languid and languorous alto saxophone song. An orchestral ensemble that works miracles and carries us away between the lubricated orchestral interludes to the heart of the mystery.
A brilliant album for continuous listening, spanning 54:46, with a musical sensitivity as delicate as ivory, the saxophone plunges into another dimension of sonic spheres, some harsh, dense, and high-pitched, others gliding on sweet tremolos, all accompanied by the tenacious, unrelenting force of the unleashed instrumentalists in a hazy, overloaded flow of sound. Percussion abounds, dizzying and varied electric exchanges between bass, drums, keyboards, electric guitars, and electronic effects from all the instruments.
An album imbued with steely technique, intelligent imagination, muscular inventions, and intoxicating, sophisticated, multifaceted improvisations. (****¼) – Marie MESMER, HIGHLANDS
The music on this album is like a gloriously rich pot of sonic gumbo. There are many ingredients here – dark ominous bass drones and riffs, deep grooves, sustained questioning melodies, explosions of frenzied sax and guitar soloing. The powerful flavours are only intensified by the use of electronics. The fx colouration of a solo drum section about 15 minutes into part one is beautiful. It’s a great band – Dee Byrne on sax, Chris Sharkey on guitar(he also did a beautiful job recording this music), Michael Bardon on bass guitar here, and Anton Hunter joining on guitar and remix duties in part IV. Great writing from Johnny and his drumming continues to be an inspiration. So many musical reference points spring to mind listening to this wonderful album – at times it put me a little in mind of Medeski Martin and Wood’s 2000 album The Dropper (definitely a compliment in my mind) but this is really original stuff, embracing space and delicate textures, alongside powerful heavy beats and electronic laden walls of sound with equal conviction. A fantastic record. – Bandcamp UK Jazz & Improvised Music
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