Nubdug Ensemble is from San Francisco, and the creation of composer & director, Jason Berry, who has surrounded himself with a veritable crowd of exceptionally talented musicians, who can be viewed, alongside the opportunity to buy their wares, at the Bandcamp page https://nubdugensemble.bandcamp.com/ and I thoroughly recommend you do so.
Third is an ambitious work taking as its story Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a historical titan and set of events which still have the power to thrill, move, and provoke thought & comparison to modern times.
Musically, you have just about everything here, prog, jazz, funk, all sounding wonderful, fresh, and a thrill to experience.
So, let’s take a musical journey and discuss the dramatis personae!
We have eleven pieces, starting with that progressive musician’s favourite tool, The (Third) Overture, a lovely introduction with the keys and cello setting the scene for the players to enter the stage, with a throbbing bass and guitar providing the promise of the drama to come.
But In Ourselves – should a man bestride this world like some Colossus – Caesar at the pinnacle of his powers and power itself, the common populace transferring their allegiance from Pompey to him. The track is embedded below and has the sense of playfulness and brightness I associate with a Triumph. The drums work is particularly good, deceptive in its understatement beneath the bright keys.
Put It By Thrice is a lovely instrumental, a lovely cello accompanied by some complex percussion, a melodious bassline and trumpet. Again, bright and breezy, almost trancey, in fact, this enhanced by a psych guitar solo.
The Ladder follows, this portraying the agony of the potential conspirator, Brutus, yet the quarrel will not bear any malice. This is darker, portraying a man in deep thought and fear arguing with himself the merits and otherwise of destroying a man he loves and admires, and I like Sami Stevens’ voice describing this. There is a fine distorted guitar solo, executed at pace against a driving rhythm section and trumpet.
Count the Clock is an instrumental just short of five minutes I embed below for you, the drama of the conspiracy setting itself in stone as to its act of treachery perfectly described by the music. The keyboards on this are powerful, the trumpets announcing intent, a thrilling rhythm section, and a swirling sax solo, this is a real highlight of the year for me in the more experimental end of the musical spectrum.
Portia and the Soothsayer. The eponymous character here is aware of the conspiracy and is told by the soothsayer that the Ides of March is the moment of danger for Caesar. “To see or not to see the limit of one’s vision. To wake and yet to dream the truth without elision”. More marvellous percussive work on this, very much dark experimental music, but you can see the darkness surrounding the sage as the vision is explained, with its consequences. The voices of Stevens (again) and Jill Rogers set this nicely. Directly following is Midmarch, The Ides being the 15th of the month, the bass guitar ominous in its persistence, sax, drums, percussion, wind and keys all combining to set the scene for the guitar pulsing as the conspirators approach Caesar and stab him numerous times on the steps to the Senate House, everything building to a conclusion full of drama, an act which reverberates to this day, the modern news full of another dictator (Caesar was never emperor, using instead the Roman Republic’s nomenclature of dictator exercising full authority in the event of state emergencies), Assad, meeting his inevitable end. History has a habit of repeating itself.
This Little Measure has the sight of the bedraggled corpse following the act and the inevitable recriminations which follow; “And your minds do mutiny and rage. At these deeds of honourable men Forth, now! Let mischief begin!”. The vocals continue to impress, the sense of horror and anticipation perfect against a pulsing musical backdrop.
Triumvirate refers to the second trio of Roman leaders bunching together in a formal alliance to either stave off civil war (not very successfully) or bump off enemies (more effectively). This alliance was Octavian (Caesar’s adopted son, but naturally his nephew who became the emperor Augustus), Mark Antony (Caesar’s loyal lieutenant), and Lepidus (Pontifex Maximus, or Chief Priest, whose influence is still argued about by historians). It was these three who chased the conspirators around the empire, Antony famously falling for the charms of Cleopatra in Egypt. Another instrumental, which has such a richly funk feel to it, oozing common purpose and solidarity (it all went wrong, of course, but not at this early stage). The bass melody is sumptuous, the drums fully immersed, whilst the trumpet puts me in mind of some of the finest 2-Tone my country produced in the late 1970’s, and the harpsichord of Dan Catrell provides a fascinating late medieval counterpoint. A joy.
The penultimate piece is The Tide. The prelude to the final battle at Philippi. What a voice Sami Stevens has, as expressive as anything you will hear all year. There is a deathly calm about this fascinating piece.
We end with The Ghost at Philippi, Caesar’s shade appearing before Brutus foretelling the end at the battle. The rhythm section again shines here, some wonderful percussive work, with the ensemble providing for an almost cheerful sound, as if the ghost was rejoicing at his eventual revenge, this exemplified by the rasping sax solo.
What a year 2024 has been. Full of incredible music, and Third simply adds to my wonder at the creativity of artists out there now. A wonderful album full of joy and bringing a classic play about an ancient set of people vigorously to life. Very highly recommended.