JON JENKINS

Beyond City Light

Spotted Peccary (2005)

Review by Bill Binkelman

Jon Jenkins, an ambient musician who was last heard from in 1998 (Flow) has returned in an auspicious manner with the genre-blending Beyond City Light, a CD which is bound to be one of the best releases of 2005. Assisted by notable musicians such as Erik Wøllo (electric guitar), Howard Givens (acoustic and electric guitars), David Helpling (electric guitars, percussion, and programming), Greg Klamt (assorted flutes and ocarinas), Matthew Stewart (bass, snare and cymbals) and Steven Schreier (deep metals...?) and featuring the ethereal and haunting vocal talents of Linda Sargent, Jenkins himself contributes synths, piano, guitars, percussion, voice, and textures. Unlike the dramatic soaring EM of his debut recording with Paul Lackey (Continuum) or the darker ambient Flow, Beyond City Light is more of a variety of musical styles, e.g. the drifting beauty of the opening "The Calling" (patient synth washes, Sargent's lovely wordless vocalizings, and cascading muted guitars) segues into the cruising selection "Zzyzx Road" (sounding a lot like the best stuff from Patrick OHearn's Metaphor/Trust era), featuring heavily echoed sparse yet melodic piano against a backdrop of synths and gradually more propulsive rhythms on percussion and hand drums. This juxtaposition of the serene with the powerful permeates the CD, providing an enjoyable sensation of movement through an assortment of landscapes. For me, the album conjures up an image of driving through the desert southwest. Musical selections veer from a propulsive sense of urgency to drifting and floating soundscapes that descend on the listener like nightfall along old Route 66, where the only light is the soft glow from your car's dashboard.

The album holds ten tracks, varying in length from not quite four to almost ten minutes in duration. Within some tracks, mood and tempo shifts occur as the piece evolves, such as the nine-and-a-half minute "Through City Light" which starts out quietly as synths create a soft pillowy cushion and are soon joined by a percolating beat/texture under the surface alongside delicate chiming tones and minimal piano. As quasi-Berlin EM elements are introduced, so too are more dramatic drums and the track begins its slow build up into an almost Bolero-ish orgasm of emotional release with percussion, keyboards, textures and guitars all coalescing in a mad rush before it's over. "Legacy" is yet another song that builds from humble ambient beginnings and ends up somewhere between powerful progressive fusion and the more dynamic work from Spotted Peccary labelmate (and collaborator on this disc) David Helpling, before subsiding into an almost mystical quietness by track's end.

Later selections tend to emphasize the more floating/spacemusic aspect of Jenkins' music, such as the appropriately titled "Deep Sleep and Dying Embers" which combines assorted synths washes, chorales, tones and what I think are muted processed guitar textures in one of several excellent "pure ambient" tracks on the album. "Sky of Surrender" is another one, but this time the music takes on more of a positive vibe, almost spiritual in essence, as delicate washes of synth strings caress the air underneath sparse harp-like notes. I also loved "Through Different Eyes" which explores quasi-electronica territory at its outset, with ping-ponging synths bouncing alongside lush flowing keyboards. Later on, Sargent's vocal talents once again contribute mightily, lending an air of beauty to the music that is almost spine-chilling in its effect. Equally impressive is Jenkins' piano work later in the cut, which drapes the entire song in an evocation of reflection and pleasant somberness (if there is such a thing). The album concludes with "Forever" a seven-plus minute excursion into electronic keyboard territory which plays as a hybrid of Vangelis at his more restrained and Michael Stearns at his most ethereal. It's a perfectly selected closing track for this excellent album, since it carries the hint of daylight breaking over the horizon as the song progresses, reintroducing the musical metaphor of the CD being a trip through the desert, from nightfall to dawn.

I had many email and phone conversations with Jon Jenkins over the years about "when is your next album coming out?" Much the same thing also happened with me and Mark Pedersen (Geodesium) who also disappeared from the recorded music scene for years (but likewise was always busy with music nonetheless). As with Pedersen's CD Stellar Collections which came out in 2001, Beyond City Light has proven the adage "all good things come to he/she who waits." Jon Jenkins has emerged from his hiding place and reconfirmed the promise of his earlier two releases, if not even trumping their artistic vision. This is an album worthy of many playings as you absorb every nuance of subtlety and revel in all the moments of power and passion. Kudos are owed to the many guest artists who assisted Jenkins with the recording (most notably the captivating Linda Sargent). As stated earlier, this is almost assuredly one of the best recordings which will be released in 2005. In conclusion, all that remains to be written is "Welcome back, Jon. You were sorely missed."