Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Copernicus: disappearance

195

Copernicus: disappearance

Copernicus: disappearance
New York-based performing poet Copernicus talks about sub-atomic particles such as quark gluon plasma, which pertains to the building blocks of matter, and issues centered on the possibilities of an atomic New Orleans. As the press release states, the artist generally improvises upon themes and motifs. Copernicus' artistry and discography spans several decades, with Disappearance effectively transmitting his authoritative presence.

With longtime musical director and instrumentalist Pierce Turner steering the current, the music is firmly entrenched within the progressive-rock realm, where man and science coalesce for a cunningly articulated program. Copernicus prompts us to "bow...to the electron neutrino," spiced with plaintive cries and capricious musical textures.

Interestingly enough, the instrumentalists mimic the leader's verse with a call-and-response methodology, in addition to providing background support. Copernicus undoubtedly means what he says due to his commanding delivery, that can instill either fear or humor. Hence, it's a nicely balanced string of events, amid quaintly organized subtleties and unanticipated shifts in musical architectures.

The band sustains interest by morphing country-blues, English folk, and psychedelic rock into the equation. At times, Copernicus surfaces as an angry prophet. Despite asking if we're all afraid of God in concert with other inquisitive statements, it's not overly austere or cerebral. He generates food for thought with off-the-wall concepts, and topics of concern that many, perhaps, fail to contemplate.

Ultimately, Copernicus feeds the mind's eye with a myriad of persuasive musings, although he seldom lets matters get out of control. In a roundabout way, he almost succeeds in convincing that life might be a sprawling farce, and that scientists' quest for the unanswerable could be a huge waste of time and energy. A compelling and altogether mind-bending voyage it is.

Track Listing

12 subatomic particles; The Quark Gluon Plasma; The Blind Zombies; Humanity created the illusion of itself; Atomic New Orleans; Poor Homo Sapiens; Revolution.

Personnel

Copernicus
vocals

Pierce Turner: musical director, Hammond B3 organ, acoustic piano, vocals, percussion; Larry Kirwan: electric guitar, vocals; Mike Fazio: electric guitar; Bob Hoffnar: steel guitar; Raimundo Penaforte: violin, acoustic guitar, bandolin, percussion, vocals; Cesar Aragundi: electric and acoustic guitar; Fred Parcells: trombone; Rob Thomas: violin; Matty Fillou: tenor saxophone, percussion; Marvin Wright: bass guitar, electric guitar, percussion; George Rush: tuba, contrabass, bass guitar; Thomas Hamlin: drums, percussion; Mark Brotter: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Disappearance | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Nevermore Inc

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.