Jon Thorne & Danny Thompson – Watching the Well

A photo in the booklet for Watching the Well shows Jon Thorne and Danny Thompson with eyes closed, their black t-shirts merged at center forming a union, their heads seemingly half out of water. It is an abstract look at the union of the composer and performer/muse. The next shot shows the two pressing foreheads against one another, each giving a mock stern expression. The final photo shows them side by side, eyes closed again, but this time caught in the midst of a natural, uncensored laugh.

Watching the Well reflects the spirit and moods of these photos: Jon Thorne, the Manchester double-bassist best known for his work with Lamb and Lou Rhodes, composed this 12-part suite in three movements as an homage to his friend, mentor and fellow bassist Danny Thompson. Since the 60s, Thompson has crossed genres, and helped define the place of his instrument. Thorne took up the bass after hearing Thompson’s remarkable work on Kate Bush’s ‘Hound of Love.’ They met each other soon after and formed a life-long working and personal friendship.

The Manchester Jazz Festival commissioned Thorne to write Watching the Well and hosted his sold-out performance of the piece in 2007. Inspired by ECM-flavored European jazz, the work is a thoroughly composed, lushly arranged work, drawing on classical structures, choral work and modern electronica. Stuart McCallum (of the Cinematic Orchestra) opens the work with some astounding electric guitar playing that nods towards ECM great Terje Rydal in places. McCallum also wrote the string arrangements which when combined with his ethereal guitar looping provide Thompson a rich foundation on which to showcase his exceptional technique. Gilad Atzmon on clarinet exposes some amazingly plaintive tones–really beautiful playing throughout. Thompson’s performance is a marvel, and a double bass has never sounded better on a recording. One hears the instrument’s ability to glide and snap, to swell and fall, to buckle and break free in the hands of Thompson. Watching the Well is not only a tribute to a great musician, but a love letter to an instrument.

The choral signing, performed by Jojo Thorne, Jon Thorne’s wife, was disarming on first listen, but the soaring vibrato of her voice in fact adds humanity, one reaching towards spirituality, to the album’s cool exterior. Once past the first two pieces (which are the longest) the shorter compositions capture the varying moods–either melodically, texturally or timbrally–in greater economy and are for me the most powerful expressions of Thorne’s ability to write gorgeous, multi-voiced works. When reduced to a single-voice, as in the 40 seconds of John Smith’s acoustic guitar interlude ‘Joanna,’ Thorne is just resolutely beautiful, and captures the many themes of Watching the Well in compact perfection. Would that we all could have a friend like Thorne, be able to perform like Thompson, and come together to celebrate in such a way.