Ahoy! by Barre Phillips

"A solo concert recorded in Canada by French-based US bassist Barre Phillips from the 35th International Festival Music Festival of Victoriaville in 2019... exemplary concert showing his masterful skills and ability to captivate then and now...

Although bassist Barre Phillips has a discography chock full of remarkable collaborations with a stellar array of musicians such as Derek Bailey, Paul Bley, Peter Brötzmann, Lee Konitz, Chris McGregor, Evan Parker and John Surman, including two-bass duos with the likes of Barry Guy, Dave Holland, Peter Kowald and Joelle Léandre, it seems highly likely that he will be most remembered as the pioneer of the solo bass recording; beginning with Journal Violone, recorded in London, in 1968, the first of its kind, Phillips released a steady stream of solo bass albums, some recorded in concert, some studio-recorded.

... Phillips' playing is showing no tell-tale signs of his advancing years. As ever, he shows himself to be a master of his instrument, capable of extracting an impressive range of sounds and textures from it... All tracks are solo bass music, not bass solos; rather than being a short bass interlude, each track is a fully formed piece of music with its own particular structure, melodies, harmonies, sound and mood, meaning that it can stand alone on its own merits. As such, this album is recommended to anyone who enjoys good music, be it on bass or otherwise." - Squidco

"Phillips is one of the few true masters, at one with the nuances of the instrument, one who understands that amidst its woods and metals, the essential components are air and form and time, projection, shape and resonance. Before such magisterial sound, words become silly putty: there is more air by volume than any other element in the bass. In a symphony orchestra, that air would match tympani or tuba. Water? If it begins with a shouted "Ahoy," it's forcefully evident in "Abate, Arise," from its initial thundering abyss to its turbine rhythms. Phillips' bass, always a bass, is intimate double to an exalted musical consciousness, but personal orchestra as well, from vast hand drum to kora and even shakuhachi, or narrative, a Melville-like Odyssey in which bow ultimately becomes bowsprit, spy glass in stringy rigging, notes as Noah's ark doves launched in landward hopes — sounds of cool flicker fire and exotic earth song."-Stuart Broomer, March 2020