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Michael TA Thompson
Andrea Wolper: Wanderlust
by Jerome Wilson
Andrea Wolper is an active jazz singer, composer, and educator but this album is her first recording since 2011. On it, she reestablishes herself as a creative vocalist and arranger who can excel in many different styles. She also benefits from the support of excellent musicians such as reed player Jeff Lederer and violinist Charles Burnham. Wolper performs several of her own compositions as well as tunes by others such as Abbey Lincoln and Carole King. Among her ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Wolper: Wanderlust
by Dan Bilawsky
Itinerant creatives manifest in both literal and figurative terms. Yes, they most clearly present in true formal fashion, traveling from place to place, sharing their art wherever they may roam. But their venturesome virtues extend to the interior, too. In fact, what's often of the greatest importance and interest is the roving surrounding and propelling their work--exploration of narrow paths, walks through obscured alleys and hideaways, and time spent in secret sanctums that offer peace and space to think in ...
Continue ReadingPatrick Brennan: Tilting Curvaceous
by John Sharpe
In spite of being active on the NYC scene since the mid-'70s, alto saxophonist and composer patrick brennan (he prefers his name spelled entirely in lowercase letters) has a relatively sparse discography, to which tilting curvaceous constitutes a splendid addition. It constitutes the seventh release by his S0nic 0penings band since Introducing S0UP (Deep Dish, 1981), but the first since 2007's Muhheankuntuk (Clean Feed). Bassist Hilliard Greene has been an ever-present since 2002, though trumpeter Brian Groder, drummer Michael TA ...
Continue ReadingPatrick Brennan Sonic Openings: Tilting Curvaceous
by Karl Ackermann
The quintet project Tilting Curvaceous is saxophonist/composer Patrick Brennan's sixth leader/co-leader date since the late 1990s. His duo recording Terraphonia (Creative Sources Recordings, 2019) with guitarist Abdul Moimême demonstrated a strong affinity for free improvisation within unconventional settings and uncommon concepts. Brennan is joined by trumpeter and flugelhorn player Brian Groder. The native New Yorker has been a long-time fixture on the NYC jazz scene and has devoted a significant part of his career to the frequent use of free-form ...
Continue ReadingPatrick Brennan and sOnic Opening: Tilting Curvaceous
by Howard Mandel
Tilting Curvaceous is all-of-a-piece, s0nic 0penings' instigator and extraordinary alto saxophonist Patrick Brennan informs us, emerging from a single “meta-groove interface," to be heard whole. That may come naturally to fans of creative improvisation since the breakthroughs of Ornette Coleman, say, and new constructions by composers including Cecil Taylor, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Henry Threadgill and Brennan himself. However, as presented in 14 distinct tracks, this album is also a suite of inter-related movements--separate, comparable, able to ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Wolper: Parallel Lives
by Dan Bilawsky
Andrea Wolper isn't just a jazz singer. Hearing her mid-song monologue with bass accompaniment, during her own “The Girls In Their Dresses," makes it clear that she's actually an actress choosing to communicate through the medium of jazz, and an utterly original one at that. On Parallel Lives, Wolper explores the music of Joni Mitchell, Hoagy Carmichael, Richard Rodgers, and Duncan Sheik, to name just a few, and she brings a dramatic flair to the work of each and every ...
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Music
Light Out of Darkness
From: WanderlustBy Michael TA Thompson
The Girls In Their Dresses
From: Parallel LivesBy Michael TA Thompson
