Lucien Johnson: Ancient Relics

The astral jazz of Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane is among the most mimicked jazz to be heard in 2024. Mimicked as in superficial, cynical, clichéd, travesty. So it is a rare pleasure to come across an album as singular and substantial as New Zealand-based tenor saxophonist Lucien Johnson's Ancient Relics.

The album is the follow-up to Wax///Wane (Deluge, 2020), another sextet affair with a similar lineup and the same bassist and drummer. It was a promising disc and Ancient Relics delivers on that promise resoundingly.

The singularity starts with Johnson's saxophone. Mainly heard on tenor, but using soprano on the raga-meets-deep-funk "Space Junk," Johnson, unlike the mimicking herd, mostly avoids sounding like Sanders. The opening title track echoes Sanders/Coltrane with its bass ostinato, harp and tambura, until the bluesy piano takes us somewhere else (check the YouTube below). Sanders is referenced again on the closing "Satellites," which is in effect a tribute to the great man. Elsewhere Johnson goes his own way and from time to time even puts one in mind of Ben Webster, a player not readily associated with astral jazz. While it is clear where Johnson is coming from, he goes on to wrap the Sanders/Coltrane paradigm with new clothes. Hooray!

Johnson is accompanied by Natalia Lagiitaua on harp, Jonathan Crawford on acoustic and electric piano, Tom Callwood on double bass, Julien Dyne on percussion and Cory Champion on drums and vibraphone (there was no dedicated keyboardist on Wax///Wane). The material ranges from slow and deliberate, tambura and harp, modal grooves ("Ancient Relics," "Space Junk," "Satellites"), through changes-based balladry ("Embers") and boppish retentions ("Ada"), to percussive neo-voudou ("Escape Capsule," which is briefly reminiscent of Dr John). Altogether a stone delight.