Simon Phillips Jazz Drums

In collaboration with London-based rock drummer Simon Phillips and Germany’s very own NDR Big Band, 21 Spices is the latest offering from the Bombay-bred musical virtuoso Trilok Gurtu. Easily seen as the meeting of two maestros from the world of percussion, this album is a unique concoction of heady rhythms, raw sounds of drums and tabla and the opulence of a philharmonic orchestra.

A professional musician from the age of 12, Simon Phillips' drumming sound and style is instantly recognizable. He's toured and recorded with just about every major rock and pop act imaginable; from Mick Jagger, The Who and Toto to Judas Priest, Mike Oldfield, and Joe Satriani. Protocol 3 is real-deal jazz rock. No avant-garde trappings, smooth jazz noodling or proggy pretensions (well, maybe a little bit of the latter) here.

Protocol II arrives fourteen years after drummer Simon Phillips' last leader date—the hard bop and post-bop based Vantage Point (Jazzline Records, 2000). And it comes approximately a quarter century after the original Protocol (Music for Nations, 1988)—a true solo date that had Phillips covering all the instruments, filling in the space around his calling-card drumming.

In a day and age when so much of what is considered jazz is merely fluffy pop instrumental music designed for the safety of radio play, Lipstick Records is a godsend for fans of high-caliber, adventurous ensemble playing. The label's latest project joins two old pals - both veterans who have played everything from light pop-jazz to classical and powerhouse fusion - and places them in a free-flowing studio setting where anything is possible and the unexpected is bound to occur. The multi-faceted, multi-keyboardist Mitch Forman first met guitarist Chuck Loeb in the early '80s when the two toured for several years with Stan Getz. As the liner notes explain, "At our first rehearsal, we resolved to start our own band.