Knee Deep in the North Sea
Artist: Portico Quartet
Label: Babel Label
Length: 9 tracks / 50 minutes 

Although this has been out some months, it came to my attention scandalously late, thanks to being shortlisted for this year’s Mercury Prize.
 
In some quarters, they have been described as the competition’s “token jazz act,” but their nomination is hardly token and they are no purists. They play six-minute instrumentals, often work around a theme, and their line up includes saxophones, double bass and percussion. So how can that not be pure jazz? The answer lies in their featured instrument, which did not even exist ten years ago: the hang (pronounced ‘hung’). Looking like two voluminous woks that meet at their rims, the hang is a tuned percussion instrument that sounds like a more versatile steel drum, The hangs (for they use more than one) can provide a more ambient, eerie and Reichian edge to the band as well as an exuberant Caribbean spice.
 
So striking is this flying saucer-like instrument, that when the band saw one by chance at a music festival, the four students of the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies formed a band in order to perform with it. (Since the Portico Quartet purchased theirs, the Swiss inventors have started to stipulate that prospective purchasers must come to Switzerland and be interviewed before being allowed to buy one.) 
 
This is a remarkable début disc: it is fluid, comfortable, and full of assurance. It shows that they have honed their act by busking around London and Europe, because you only succeed at that by grabbing busy people’s attention and learning how to keep it. Hooks and quality, plus a feel for entertainment are essential. They have taken these attributes and given the jazz enough style to be taken seriously, but also showed the flair and attitude that attracts the indie audience. Add to that an ambience that appeals to gamelan lovers and the world audience, and it is plain to see why they were nominated for the prize.
                                                                                                                        
The band is at its most entrancing on the title track, a piece that lends itself to extension live, with a memorable double hang riff that is an ideal base for saxophone improvisation. There is a well-rounded introduction to the band and a live version of this track at www.babellabel.co.uk/Vortex artists - Portico Quartet.htm. If a blend of world and jazz sounds good to you, you will not regret checking out the site.
 
Derek Walker