An unheralded master jazz-rock guitarist from the United Kingdom, who has quietly developed his craft in the relative shadows of fame, Nick Fletcher first appeared in my collection via a collaboration with John Hackett, brother of some Steve guy, reputedly a legendary figure in Prog, as well as a few solo albums that showcase his technical mastery. This album is a giant leap forward, as it’s a bone fide cracker, featuring some solid performers in master Dave Bainbridge on keyboards, the phenomenal Tim Harries on bass, Jeff Beck’s superlative drummer Anika Nilles as well as slick keyboardist Caroline Bonnett. Let’s get the Latin title out of the way first, Quadrivium being the four noble arts according to Plato, those being Math, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy. Suffice to say, that this quartet is the inspiration for all the tracks presented here. Incorporating textures from another stylistic foursome, namely blues, metal, prog, and jazz. The cardinal points are all covered in all dimensions!
The album is a suite of 11 astronomically interconnected tracks that paint a universal picture and should thus be listened to as a whole, keeping in mind all the 8 hints I have previously suggested. The magnificent “A Wave on the Ocean of Eternity” emerges from the silence, like a misty siren’s chant, luring the listener into a cosmic expanse and hinting at the flowing Floydian fascination with life and death (Hello, Great Gig in the Sky). Synthesized horizons and a sultry electric guitar excursion is the ideal anesthesia to get the waves rolling in, setting the stage for the impending ride into the cosmos.
Speaking of which, the explosive launch of ‘Overture to the Cosmos’ spares no moment in blasting into orbit with a vortex of thunder and lightning, with coarse electric guitar blasts propelled by the intense Nilles concussion, solid bass boosters and atmospheric keyboard colorations. Breathtaking piece of havoc. Once flung into the stratosphere, time for a stage release into a jazzier realm, floating at warp speed into the unknown, a perfect opportunity for Bainbridge to show off his considerable piano skills and Nilles to show her subtle side. Fletcher enters the fray with a blistering rock solo that takes over the laid-back platform and vaults the arrangement into a real happy place, a perfect synthesis of the two styles at play. Visions of smiling musicians suspended in zero gravity.
Change of pace with the moodily introspective “Ziggurat of Dreams Part1”, a tasty intermezzo of colourful bluesy picking that straddles the jazz and soundtrack realms with just the right amount of reflection. A sensational segue into the complex madness of “The Fifth Parallel”, a polyrhythmic cauldron of jazz-rock insanity that should make Jeff Beck smile from up above, a rather incredible drum display from Anika that boggles the mind. Fletcher flutters like a bumble bee in heat, screeching and pleading notes out of his instrument, egged along by Harries and Bainbridge. Where did I leave my oxygen mask?
The shift back to colour and restraint is obvious on “Aphelion”, where the playing regales in a classic jazz-rock setting, a style where all the complexity is made to sound rather liquid and carefree. Ridiculous chops by all involved, case in point Bainbridge delivering a deliriously fluid piano that has a elegant Oscar Peterson feel, while Anika kills it on the kit. Needless to repeat that Fletcher roams like a seasoned world-weary traveller, dropping notes with impassioned glee.
After a brief and settling “Ziggurat of Dreams Part 2”, the stunningly robust “The Helix” is another turbo powered boost, starting off fairly innocuously with some twirling flickers of the wrist upon the six strings, a clear showcase of Fletcher’s talent and mastery of tone, winking with admiration at the defunct Holdsworth and Beck (two of the GOATS) and as befits a spiral, it swirls into insanity like a tornado gone berserk. Not necessarily heavy but most definitely solid. Musicians out there will twitch in awe.
Impressively cinematographic, this track “To the Stars We Shall Return” is the beginning to the crowning achievement on the set-list, a perfect companion to Santana’s legendary jazz-rock masterpiece ‘Caravanserai’, offering the same sweeping, sandstorm-incrusted camel ride through the broiling Sahara, escorted by Middle Eastern percussives and headed in the direction of India, where “The Journey to Varanasi” awaits. This 7 minute + extravaganza is worth the purchase on its own merits, a mesmerizing hurricane of sound and fury, taking the Santana feel right into the Mahavishnu realm. Sizzling, molten lava guitar, played with unreal velocity and contrasting tonal restraint is a jaw -dropper. Add John MacLaughlin to the list of applauding fans! Might as well throw in Gilmour and Hackett, while we are at it.
How about some beauty to finish off this amazing recording, what with all the sizzle and fizzle, there is nothing more gratifying that a tender ‘au revoir’ and “Standing on the Edge of Time” does the ‘denouement’ (one of Lazland’s favorite words) thingy just absolutely perfectly. Plato will also be happy.
If I may, Nick, if you read this, please, MORE albums like this, same crew!!!
5 Roman Philosophers
