Simon phillips, drummer and producer extraordinaire has upped the ante with his newest instrumental recording protocol 4. Building on his past protocol projects, simon has again enlisted the highly talented bassist ernest tibbs along with protocol newcomers, the superb veteran guitar shredder greg howe and keyboard virtuoso dennis hamm. All compositions were written by simon while on tour. "the first time i've really been able to concentrate on writing material on the road. Lots of creativity on airplanes and in hotel and backstage dressing rooms", says phillips. Perhaps the vibe and energy of touring accounts for the slightly more "metallic edge" to this new album. But, as is always the case, simon's music defies specific labels as he fuses elements of rock, jazz, funk, classical and even world music into the mix.
