Whether behind the kit with Toto, Jeff Beck, Hiromi, or through decades of session work, Simon Phillips has always combined technical brilliance with impeccable musical taste. With Protocol 6, the latest chapter in his long-running fusion project, he delivers what may be the strongest statement of the Protocol series to date—an album that refines rather than reinvents his distinctive vision of progressive jazz-rock.
Recorded with a world-class ensemble featuring Ernest Tibbs on bass, Otmaro Ruiz on keyboards, Alex Sill on guitar, and newcomer Phillip Whack on saxophone, Protocol 6 captures the chemistry of a band that clearly understands Phillips’ compositional language. Rather than functioning as a vehicle for extended drum solos, the music is built around sophisticated ensemble writing, intricate counterpoint and constantly shifting rhythmic landscapes. Phillips has spoken of the project as “progressive jazz”—a fitting description that reflects its balance of jazz improvisation, rock energy and compositional complexity. Several of the new pieces were co-written with guitarist Alex Sill, whose modern harmonic vocabulary complements Phillips’ established style beautifully.
The seven compositions are remarkably consistent in quality. Opener “Andromeda” immediately establishes the album’s expansive scope with soaring melodies, intricate rhythmic figures and explosive ensemble playing. “Unstable Grounds” lives up to its title through constantly evolving grooves and subtle metric shifts, while “Intrepid Traveller” balances dazzling technical passages with memorable melodic themes. Tracks such as “As The River Flows” provide welcome moments of lyrical restraint before the album launches back into the exhilarating complexity of “Code 4 Kryptos” and the remaining compositions. Throughout the record, there is never the sense that virtuosity exists merely for its own sake; every technical flourish serves the composition.
The musicianship is, unsurprisingly, exceptional. Phillips remains one of the world’s most precise and expressive drummers, but what is striking is his restraint. His playing is full of breathtaking independence, dynamic control and subtle orchestration around the drum kit, yet he constantly prioritises the ensemble over personal display. Ernest Tibbs provides a muscular yet highly melodic bass foundation, while Otmaro Ruiz’s keyboard work ranges effortlessly from atmospheric textures to dazzling harmonic flights. Alex Sill continues to establish himself as one of fusion’s most exciting guitar voices, combining fluid technique with genuine melodic imagination, and Phillip Whack’s saxophone brings a fresh tonal dimension that broadens the band’s sonic palette.
What makes Protocol 6 especially satisfying is how naturally it fits within Simon Phillips’ broader catalogue. The original Protocol recordings hinted at his compositional ambitions, but it was from Protocol II onwards that the project evolved into a fully realised modern fusion ensemble. Protocol 6 feels like the culmination of that evolution: more confident than its predecessors, more cohesive in its writing and richer in its ensemble interplay. It possesses the polished production values Phillips is renowned for while sounding remarkably organic and alive.
Donnie’s Rating: 9/10
