Home » Jazz Musicians » Paul Wertico Discography

StereoNucleosis

Paul Wertico

Label: A440 Music
Released: 2004
Duration: 62:25
Views: 3,207

Tracks

Corner Conversation; We Needed the Rain; Somewhere in Between; Desert Sky; First, Bass; The Eleventh Hour; You Can Get There From Here; What Would the World Be; 30 dBs Below Zero; Almost Sixteen; Down And Out On The Farm; Twisted Hoedown

Personnel

Paul Wertico

drums

John Moulder

guitar

Brian Peters

bass

Eric Hochberg

bass

Barbara Wertico

keyboards

Additional Personnel / Information

Paul Wertico - drums, percussion, hand claps; John Moulder - acoustic guitar, electric guitars, guitar synth; Eric Hochberg - acoustic bass, trumpet, vocals; Barbara Wertico - keyboards, hand claps; Brian Peters - fretless bass, violin, electric guitar, electric bass, Ebow, hand claps; Talia Wertico - vocal commentary, hand claps; Rocky - dog barks

Album Description

A brilliant release - Wertico shows a thrilling disregard for stylistic boundaries - Anyone who has been listening to jazz during the past 25 years already knows that Chicagoan Paul Wertico ranks among the most creative artists to hold a pair of sticks. But no one — not even fans of his radiant, life-affirming CD Don't Be Scared Anymore (of 2000) — could have been fully ready for his galvanic new release, StereoNucleosis (on the A440 label). If Don't Be Scared Anymore was a philosophical statement expressing Wertico's ebullience and optimism as man and musician, StereoNucleosis is nothing less than a riveting summation of Wertico's audaciously sweeping view of the percussionist's art. Strange sonic effects, sweetly shimmering brush strokes, hard-driving funk beats, other-worldly musings on acoustic and synthesized instrumentation — it's all packed into one of the most intelligent, creative and alluring percussion recordings of the past decade. Not that Wertico simply bashes relentlessly on his drums throughout. On the contrary, his freewheeling ideas on sound, texture and rhythm inspire comparably provocative work from the viscerally exciting guitarist John Moulder and the versatile bassist-trumpeter Eric Hochberg (both longtime Wertico collaborators). Yet these players, and others, don't so much assist Wertico as indelibly merge their sound with his. Together, Wertico and friends — including multi-instrumentalist Brian Peters and keyboardist Barbara Wertico (the drummer's wife) — unfurl an unmistakably communal music that nonetheless places Wertico at its heart. From the lyrical chimes and pulsing backbeats that drive the first track, "Corner Conversation," to the haunting reverb effects and exotically bent pitches of the aptly named "Somewhere In Between," this is a recording that takes listeners into uncharted aural territory. By dipping into flamenco-influenced scales and rhythms on "First, Bass," electric blues vernacular on "The Eleventh Hour" and abstract eruptions of pitch, color and noise (including the occasional barking dog) on "Down And Out On The Farm," the Wertico unit shows a thrilling disregard for stylistic boundaries. In fact, purists of jazz, pop, blues, rock or techno will not draw comfort from StereoNucleosis, for the recording draws liberally from all of these genres, and others. In lesser hands, this almost-anything-goes approach to the art of improvisation might seem chaotic and unfocused. Wertico and the band, however, make it cohere through the seamlessness of the ensemble playing, the distinct musical vocabulary of each track and, above all, the range and vigor of Wertico's percussion. Unleashed from Pat Metheny's band, in which Wertico played for many years, the drummer finally has given full voice to his art. It takes decades to achieve this level of virtuosity and vision, and with StereoNucleosis, Wertico reaffirms his position among the most restlessly inventive drummers working today. - Chicago Tribune