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So the former South Bank buskers have made it to the famous Abbey Road Studios, have gained the almost as famous John Leckie as a producer, moved to the home of ‘world music’ Real World and have the Gilles Peterson seal of jazz cred to boot.

Of course, the fear was that Real World was going to want something more gamelan. Well if they did, they wouldn’t have got Leckie on the job as he’s got a list of credits in pop/rock as long as your arms including Radiohead, Stone Roses and the like (as an aside, try the early stuff “John Peel” era albums like Be-Bop Deluxe’s Sunburst Finish, Magazine’s Real Life and Simple Minds’ Life In A Day).

Admittedly, theirs a coupe of traces of Balkan Beats, but this combination of saxophone, bass, drums and hang (for your 101 on all things hang, see review of Knee Deep In The North See HERE) is greater than the sum of the parts. Often said to sound like a steel drum (but funnily enough, when I was listening to this on the headphones walking past the steel pan busker on Hungerford Bridge tonight, there seemed little similarity), Nick Mulvey’s instrument is the light in a melancholy, even dark, set of nine tracks. From a jazz point of view the sax is superb and there’s a strong spiritual jazz influence (likes of Alice Coltrane/Dorothy Ashby) whilst the rest of the band provide the ‘modern’ Cinematic Orchestra feel.

And soundtrack/suite is written all over this as a listen as its hard to pick highlights (give yourselves time to listen to the whole album to get it at its best) but if you really are in a hurry, check out the tracks Peterson played (see below).

As a bit of an ex-art student, I think I should say that I love the cover - but, if you really want some jazz album covers, you’ll need Freedom, Rhythm and Sound (Ed, that’s two plugs for Peterson in one piece and not mention the podcast!)

After appearing at WOMAD, the forthcoming tour with Sweet Billy Pilgrim in November is only going to make them more well known and popular; Isla is going to be big.

Reviewed: Portico Quartet - Isla (Real World) Cat. No. 50 37005 0057 0 Release date: 19th October 2009
Saxophone, Electronics - Jack Wyllie
Double Bass - Milo Fitzpatrick
Drums, Piano, Marimba - Duncan Bellamy
Percussion, Drums [Hang] - Nick Mulvey
Producer, Mixed By - John Leckie
Tracklisting
1 Paper Scissors Stone (5:26)
2 The Visitor (5:29)
3 Dawn Patrol (5:58)
4 Line (7:29)
5 Life Mask Interlude (1:14)
6 Clipper (6:30)
7 Life Mask (7:15)
8 Isla (5:00)
9 Shed Song (Improv No. 1) (8:20)

Links:
www.myspace.com/porticoquartet
realworldrecords.com
realworldusa.com
wapedia.mobi/en/Hungerford_Bridge
Gilles Peterson :: 17th September 2009 :: Duncan & Jack from Portico Quartet In The Studio
Portico Quartet - ‘Clipper’ (Real World)
Portico Quartet - ‘Paper Scissors Stone’ (Real World)
Portico Quartet - ‘Life Mask’ (Real World)