Udo Pannekeet’s Electric Regions is old-school prog-rock jazz that sings with audio colors. This is instrumental large-ensemble music that buzzes through the brain and makes those synapses dance just a little bit.
Ah – the good old long-haired days.
Now, for those of us who bought Close to the Edge and Dark Side of the Moon long before anyone bandied about the terms “remaster” or “bonus tracks,” well, this one’s for you. This is wondrous prog jazz.
There are bits that rekindle the beauty of King Crimson’s brilliant Lizard (especially that second side!). Electric Regions is a distant cousin to the early recordings of Finland’s Pekka Pohjola, circa Harakka Bialoipokku (aka, thankfully, B the Magpie). And this also conjures the absolute sublimity of (my beloved) Jade Warrior, with their “Barazinbar” jazzy workout or their Island albums, sans the Eastern vibe. Fans of the Canterbury sound of National Health and Dave Stewart’s Hatfield and the North extended piece “Mumps” from The Rotters’ Club will find a lot to love here. There’s even a bit of Ian Carr’s Nucleus.
As stated, you know who you are, and this album is for you.
It’s just an idea, but ’70s folk music has been resurrected. And that’s a deep acoustic thought. Thank you, Bon Iver! So, perhaps, there can be renewed interest in extended and complex rock that progresses beyond the three-minute song. Remember, Yes’s “Roundabout” hit Billboard’s No. 12 spot in 1972.
But on to the music: Udo Pannekeet’s title song, “Electric Regions Part 1,” is a beautiful and ever-changing musical journey that simply crashes through the sound barrier of 280 Tweet characters with magic to burn. Udo’s bass throbs throughout the piece, while trumpets, saxes, keyboards, guitar, and flute spiral and float in an amazing array of melodies. This music pulses and prays; it rocks – and sometimes slow dances through various movements, but the percussion is always rock solid. It’s a stunning 20-plus minute musical funhouse ride.
So, as my friend Kilda Defnut is apt to say, “This is the stuff that my brain’s frontal lobes want for Christmas.” Udo Pannekeet’s Electric Regions just ticks with beauty. And, to quote the great prog band Procol Harum, “still there’ll be more.”
The second tune, “Integration Yes,” serves jazz for dinner. The bass and drums bulge a wide berth, while the piano sings to the stars, a guitar rides a rollercoaster, and a sax bleats a bit. It’s all pleasantly weird in a funky way, and it all pleasantly rocks. Next stop: Brand X’s “Born Ugly”! Once again, Merry Christmas to those beloved frontal lobes.
“Little Nura” is slow and bass pulsed. This is contemplative, watching-time-flow-down-the-river music. The tune drips with relaxed expectation. “The Antibes Situation” then ups the EKG into a fast wah-wah pace. It’s urgent jazz-rock that ladles a sax like a gravy spoon. The guitar surfs any random rainbow; the piano simply dances with the funk-fused bass. And then there is more gravy, yet another rainbow, impossible percussion – and to once again (sort of) quote Procol Harum, “still there’ll be more funky rock music.” This song grooves with infectious abandon.
The final tune, “Cocon Cocon,” ponders a bit, but then it erupts into happy fusion, which abruptly ends, only to flow into a silent sunset.
Udo Pannekeet’s Electric Regions is a terrific album of weird sounds that orbit the cosmos. It’s rock; it’s jazz – and then it’s everything in between. By the way, Pannekeet is the current bass player in the amazing prog band Focus. So, indeed, yodel “Hokus Pokus,” because this is a wonderful progressive jazz-rock record.
Postscript: This must be a great album because it’s still spinning long after this review has been written — and it has kept Magic Pie’s new Fragments of the Fifth Dimensions waiting in the on-deck circle.
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