Tom Jenkinson and Evan Parker live at Queen Elizabeth Hall

One of the most anticipated concerts in years came after one of the most confusing events (the amazing Il Tempo del Postino). Virtuoso bass guitar player Tom Jenkinson, who under his moniker Squarepusher has stunned audiences all over the planet with his bolts of hyper-jungle drum and bass playing, performed with music legend Evan Parker on Monday night at the Southbank Center in London.

The sight of 800 WARP aficionados at the Queen Elizabeth Hall - 18 to 25 years old, the skateboarding type, reminiscent of WARP and Jonny Greenwood with the London Sinfonietta - to see a seated concert in three movements at the impossible time of 7.30 P.M, has become familiarly unfamiliar. Jenkinson, casually dressed and in good spirit, greeted the cheering crowd with a shy smile and sincere “thank you”. 40 minutes later he repeated this and walked of stage, leaving an overwhelmed crowd.

His demonstration of was this instrument has to offer unveiled a mysterious and unorthodox creativity. Jenkinson, Zen-like, finds rare and unusual chords on his 6-string bass guitar with the speed of a martial arts black belt, articulating even the most obscured tones in his controlled derangement. Unlike his Squarepusher performances, no computers or effects are used. Jenkinson and his bass guitar are naked for all of the five works.

Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without break. This is accomplished by breathing in through the nose while blowing through the mouth using the air stored in the cheeks. Evan Parker, on soprano saxophone, started playing and did not stop to draw a breath for 25 minutes. A sublime trance of 8-lane freeway speeding, Steve Reich deconstructed and reorganized by the intuitive and compositional genius of Parker. Having played this piece for 25 years, he no longer knows which parts are improvised and which are composed. As one Heideggerian put it after the show: “He was pure Being.”

The finale of this night came with the 20 minute duet of Tom Jenkinson and Evan Parker. The fears of the bass overshadowing the sax were ungrounded. Elegant phrasing and careful listening of the young Jenkinson, created time and space for the experienced Parker; the wizard echoed his apprentice accurately. Both men gracefully accepted a standing ovation in the end. No encores were given, even though the audience clapped adamantly.

With a lifetime of experience as the producer Squarepusher, composer and bass guitar player Tom Jenkinson is certainly one of the most interesting musicians of our time.

His next performance will be with Pierre Bastien at Cité de la Musique in Paris, on September 7.

Web site Tom Jenkinson
Evan Parker on allaboutjazz.com

Related posts:  High point of 2007 returns to the Bimhuis  //  Tom Jenkinson and Evan Parker  //  Tom Jenkinson and Evan Parker reviews  //  Pierre Bastien, Tom Jenkinson and Evan Parker at Cité de la Musique  //  Tom Jenkinson, Evan Parker and Pierre Bastien at Cité de la Musique  //