Not to be confused with his much in-demand drummer PA Dornbusch (Rosemarine, Flying Cakes), Phillip Dornbusch (b. 1994) is a promising Berlin-based saxophonist not long out of college. This is is the second release from his group Projektor, the first, Reflex, having been released in 2021 under the auspices of Jazzthing’s notable Next Generation series.
As the title suggests, Dornbusch’s razor-sharp ensemble approach the material with a view to disassembly and re-composition. Creating an air of tension as players constantly move in and out of phase, compositional shapes blur around the edges without ever completely disappearing from view. It’s an approach which should be familiar to fans of the late Wayne Shorter’s last quartet, and one that I happen to like a lot.
Nowhere is Dornbusch’s modus operandi more evident that on the opening Constant Vacillation. Suitably hesitant and stuttering, the musicians slowly assert their presence as the piece gathers pace – pick of the soloists is Johannes Mann, whose brooding overdriven guitar recalls Raoul Björkenheim.
No less intense are the angular grooves of Demons, where Kintopf’s visceral bass underpins Dornbusch’s dark Shorter-esque tenor. Interlude explores a more chamber-ish mode, and the interplay between Dornbusch’s reflective clarinet and Summer’s classically leaning piano is one of the set’s more understated highlights.
While the super-talented pianist occasionally struggles to find space, she regularly catches the ear. Her percussive abstractions on Doubts are a moment of pure joy, and the way in which she cuts a path through the dense rhythmic undergrowth of the shapeshifting Good Faith is testament to her great musical guile.
Two of the nine pieces feature guest vocalists – rapper JuJu Rogers introduces a dash of political attitude to In Art We Trust, while Lina Knörr’s wordless chorus bestows an ethereal lustre to the short but beautiful Anthem.
Discography
Constant Vacillation; Demons; Interlude; In Art We Trust; Doubts; Anthem; Good Faith; Inescapable Network of Mutuality; Outro (51.15)
Dornbusch (ts, cl, bcl) with Johanna Summer (p); Johannes Mann (elg); Roger Kintopf (b); Philip Adrian Dornbusch (d) and Juju Rogers (v) on 4, Lina Knörr (v) on 6. Berlin, January 2022.
Berthold Records
