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Shelly Purdy
Michael McNeill: Barcode Poetry
by Hrayr Attarian
Pianist Michael McNeill approaches music like an abstract painter. Thus his work is dynamic, multi-hued, and textured. The captivating Barcode Poetry, his fourth album as a leader, finds him expanding his palette with unorthodox instrumentation. His quartet includes, in addition to trumpeter Dave Ballou and percussionist Shelly Purdy, innovative pedal guitarist Susan Alcorn whose passing a few months after this music was recorded adds poignancy. “Timeigrant" opens with McNeill's percussive chords in a dramatic tone. Ballou echoes the ...
Continue ReadingMichael McNeill: Barcode Poetry
by Troy Dostert
Pianist Michael McNeill has pursued a number of projects since his debut release, Passageways, in 2013, each of which has defined his distinctive niche as a musician informed by both avant-garde and conventional jazz. On Barcode Poetry, it is the former impulse that prevails, as McNeill and his esteemed colleagues--Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, Dave Ballou on trumpet, and Shelly Purdy on vibes and percussion--engage in lengthy studies in texture and abstraction rather than straightforward melodic expression.
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
