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Rich Pellegrin: Topography (featuring Neil Welch)
by Dan McClenaghan
Whidbey Island, nestled in the nook of Puget Sound, must be an inspiring place. Pianist Rich Pellegrin finds it so. He has recorded two solo works here, Solitude (OA2 Records, 2021), (review here) and Passage (OA2 Records, 2022), (review here). Both of these works--recorded in the same session--have a feeling of serenity, of an escape from the mind-numbing necessities of modern life; they elicit a cool, pastoral frame of mind, inspired by the isolation, climate, topography, and the verdant flora ...
Continue ReadingNeil Welch: The Ink Around It
by Ian Gwin
Music is ephemeral by nature. The conical airflow of a saxophone could be nothing more than “airy charm"—as the magician Prospero in The Tempest might have it—but this fails to substantiate its power. Though the rousing craft of Seattle composer and saxophonist Neil Welc does. In his acclaimed duo Bad Luck with drummer Chris Icasiano, he's “plucked up / the pine and cedar" through a wildly generative approach to the tenor. Combining profound humility with a tectonic techique, Welch approaches ...
Continue ReadingBad Luck: Four
by Ian Gwin
For over a decade, Seattle-based duo Bad Luck—that's Neil Welch (saxophones, electronics) and Chris Icasiano (drums)—have packed and unpacked their deceptively simple formula of drums and saxophone. Through their deep musical partnership, they continue to recast the mold of contemporary music. Over countless fiery performances and three full-length releases, the depth of the duo's compositional improvisations has steadily developed, starting from the catch-as-catch-can edge of their classically free-jazz 2009 self-titled debut, moving the sprawling, heavy-metal intensity of 2011's double-album Two, ...
Continue ReadingNeil Welch: Twelve Tiny Explosions
by Bruce Lindsay
It's good when an album title tells it like it is. Twelve Tiny Explosions is Seattle tenor saxophonist Neil Welch's third solo saxophone album and consists of a dozen tunes, each of which can be described as an “explosion." Welch's technical ability on his instrument of choice, sheer power and inventive musicality combine to create a challenging, mind-blowing and often rather lovely battery of sounds.As with his Boxworks (Table & Chairs, 2011), Welch fashions every sound from his ...
Continue ReadingNeil Welch: Boxwork
by Bruce Lindsay
Adjectives like “extraordinary" or “stunning" are overused epithets these days, their currency diminished. Such a shame, because Boxwork, from Washington State saxophonist Neil Welch, is stunning and extraordinary--not in the devalued contemporary sense of “quite interesting" but in the good, old-fashioned sense. From its beautifully handcrafted packaging to Welch's handwritten notes to the music itself, Boxwork is a lovingly produced artifact, a truly creative mix of artistic endeavors.The album's genesis is itself extraordinary. In mid-2009, Welch and his ...
Continue ReadingNeil Welch: Sleeper
by Glenn Astarita
Sleeper is a quality product from noted Seattle new music and jazz saxophonist Neil Welch, who composed the lone 28-minute title track based on an incident that occurred during the US presence in Iraq. Sans rhythm section, Welch paints a vivid storyline, interspersing microtonal extended notes with deft subtleties and touches upon contemporary classical frameworks. Since the plot is based on a military endeavor, he generates an impassioned and intertwining progression of musical events throughout.At times listening to ...
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