binker golding: abstractions of reality past and incredible feathers
Francisco Espregueira
The world of jazz music eagerly waited for this record. One of the saxophonists of the moment, Binker Golding, delivers his first quartet album, Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers, joined by an incredible group of musicians: Joe Armon-Jones on piano, Daniel Casimir on bass and Sam Jones on drums. In fact, Golding has performed with everyone from Moses Boyd (with whom the Binker & Moses project was a complete success), Yussef Dayes, Zara McFarlane or Sarah Tandy.
After releasing four albums as a bandleader and playing on countless others, Golding is no longer a rising star in the thriving London jazz scene. He is one of its main names. Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers is an enigmatic piece. With all the compositions and arrangements by the band leader, there is a greater emphasis on harmonic and melodic development, harking back to the more through-composed jazz fusion of the 80s and 90s. Like Clash Magazine puts it, the album is a “furiously inventive conversation between Sonny Rollins and broken beat”. Equally indebted to some jazz greats as it is to contemporary London. A must-have jazz record. Available on vinyl, through Gearbox Records.
“The album is about experiences I had throughout my teenage years & twenties. Its about remembering, forgetting, thinking you’ve forgotten & remembering again. It’s about people & friends that you’ll never see again & times that you can’t go back to, so you have to settle for the memory of them instead, whilst holding on to some hope for the future.”