available as CD and Download

Release: 08.04.2025

Phil Donkin – Double Bass (all tracks)
James Maddren – Drums (all tracks except 9)
Clara Vetter – Piano (1,2,4,6,8)
Felix Hauptmann – Fender Rhodes and Synths (1,3,5,6,7,8)
Evi Filippou – Vibraphone (1,3,5,6,7,9)
Theresia Philipp – Alto Saxophone (1,2,3,6,7,9)
Jeremy Viner – Tenor Saxophone (1,2,4,6,8)
Bastian Stein – Trumpet (1,2,4,6,8)

Recorded at Hansa Studios Berlin, on 25th and 26th July 2024.
Recorded by Nanni Johannsson
Mixed by Jonathan Bratoeff in December 2024 and January 2025
Mastered Adrian von Ripka in February 2025
Cover design by Riografik
Cover photo by Siarhei Kuranets
Band photo by Lena Ganssmann

Imagine a bus. It's not a big bus, but it's not a small one either. It heads for stop after stop. Passengers get on and off the bus, some return to the bus once they have got off. The constellation changes and with it the mood and voices. However, one constant remains from the beginning to the end of the journey, and that is the driver. He doesn't talk to the passengers, but his voice manifests itself via the engine, which always underlies the passengers' variable murmuring. Above all, however, he carries all passengers safely to their destination. This is exactly how you can imagine the dramaturgy of “Bring A Friend”, the new album by Berlin-based bassist Phil Donkin. This recording was made by an octet, but the only continuous member on all tracks is Donkin himself, who has taken his place in the driver's seat and uses his massive bass to carry his companions along the route. All members make their best possible contributions in the various contexts, but the topic of conversation changes with the composition of the passengers. And as in real life, the musicians sometimes come to a consensus, sometimes they argue. At times they listen to each other attentively, at other times they get into each other's words excitedly. Phil Donkin's album is simple in a very complex way, because it shows an infectious closeness to life.

Let's go back two years. With his solo album “Walk Alone”, Donkin returned from lockdown in a strong but thoughtful way. It was one of those post-Covid albums typical of those years, in which the period of isolation was dealt with. A phase of involuntary retreat to the individual that is unique in the memory of all currently living citizens of the world. “Bring A Friend” already expresses in the album title that the time of isolation is over. The octet, which is not one or only nominally one, marks the greatest possible departure from solitude in the unaccompanied solo. Donkin exploits every conceivable constellation, from almost full ensemble to trio. Surprisingly, regardless of the very different solo and collective contributions, he still manages to draw a common thread through all his compositions. But who should be surprised. After all, he is the bus driver who, come what may, sticks to his timetable and keeps the vehicle rolling with his bass. Turn the ignition key once and off we go.

However, there are three significant differences to a bus driver on the daily commute. Firstly, Donkin can choose his passengers himself. However, this only applies to his seven active passengers, not to the much larger number of his extremely welcome stowaways, i.e. the listeners, who in turn will enter into a completely different dialog with the eight participants. A second difference is that Donkin has determined his own timetable and all the stops on it. He drives this route exactly once, and the next time it will be a completely different route. The third and perhaps most significant difference lies in the fact that the bassist is driving completely at his own risk.

So it's time to take a closer look at the passengers. You could almost assume there are three sections on the bus, but Donkin knows how to constantly reposition his clientele as required. First of all, there is the rhythm section, which of course includes himself and, with one exception, drummer James Maddren on all tracks. The drummer acts as a kind of co-driver here, providing the bassist with support and security. The harmonic faction consists of Clara Vetter on piano, Felix Hauptmann on Fender Rhodes and synthesizer and Evi Filippou on vibraphone. There is also a brass section with alto saxophonist Theresia Philipp, tenor saxophonist Jeremy Viner and trumpeter Bastian Stein. All of them are leaders in other projects and know what is important here. When they play together, there are overlaps and overtones that sometimes give the impression that there are completely different instruments involved than the ones just mentioned. “The album was never written as a classic octet arrangement,” says Phil Donkin. “It's about the people and their personalities. I didn't give people particularly elaborate scores. They are short and simple themes that the musicians can develop. I was curious to see how it would work together. There was no rehearsal. This recording is really the first time we played the material. I wanted to preserve the freshness and intuitive quality of a first encounter. I'm the only one who knew the pieces well and had full control.” If you translate the term “pieces” as “route”, it once again accurately captures the image of the bus driver. He continues: “I made all the arrangements so that the others were as free as possible to say what they had to say.”

Phil Donkin's bass is the only instrument that hardly plays any solos. On the other hand, it's the only instrument that basically plays solo all the time. This bass has an incredible power that keeps the community in balance and gives it direction. The bass is the basis. It gives the trip purpose, weight, power, meaning and – not to be underestimated – humor. The passengers contribute the colors of the surroundings, which the driver can't concentrate on, unless it's the traffic lights.

Speaking of destination: this bus journey takes us back to jazz history. Without imitating or even copying anything, Donkin makes tongue-in-cheek and unobtrusive references to various eras of jazz history. Sometimes the fluttering hustle and bustle of bebop resonates through his pieces, in other tracks it is the fateful flow of the 1960s. With his bus and its passengers, he carries these conditions into the future and allows his listeners to share in them with a smile. “There is so much music from the past that has influenced me,” Donkin confirms. “There's a strong traditional bebop side to me, but the sixties or Hermeto Pascoal, Miles Davis and Weather Report in the seventies also had a lasting influence on me. But also Anton Webern, Alban Berg and the serialists of European modernism.” Donkin carries all of this in his luggage compartment without having to name it specifically. It is simply part of the journey.

“Bring A Friend” convinces with an extremely relaxed, mutually supportive mood that reflects the situation of the recording one-to-one. Dropped out of the middle of life, it tells a story of vital everydayness that could easily be described as jazz if it weren't so highly inclusive, integrative and interactive. With its unconditional accessibility, “Bring A Friend” fulfills all the requirements to become an acoustic friend itself.

phildonkin.com