The global pandemic may have fuelled many musical projects, but live music came to a standstill for a long time. This was not good for the wallets of those who make a living from music, but it was even worse for us as social beings who – yes, even on the fringes of concerts – meet, share experiences, listen with many ears, and talk afterwards. This, at least, is the thesis of bassist Seth Ford-Young, who launched the Phi-Psonics project in Los Angeles back in 2016 as a deep bow to the ancestors of extrasensory jazz – Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and others. There is no reason to doubt Ford-Young’s observation.
Expanding To One – moving beyond your own boundaries, expanding (consciously) into space, becoming a new, larger one with others – is not only the goal of any good band but also of the 15-piece ensemble that the bassist and composer assembled for four intimate live sessions at the Music is the Healing Force record shop. The result is a spiritual journey through the history of jazz – calling to mind Coltrane, as mentioned, but also Dorothy Ashby, Kahil El’Zabar, New Age percussionist Carlos Niño and his many references – one that feels as at home in the 1970s as it does within the new jazz of the past decade.
