Jazz Articles about Ergo

Ergo: As subtle as tomorrow

by Vic Albani
June 8, 2016

Ritengo la Cuneiform una delle migliori e intelligenti etichette musicali esistenti poiché, lavorando su territori spesso assai diversi fra loro, riesce regolarmente a evidenziare new forms e ricerche di spessore in molti lavori di artisti celebrati o meno. È il caso di questi Ergo (che hanno anche un sito che si chiama “ergo is a band"!), trio composto dal trombonista Brett Sroka (di lui si parla molto a New York anche per via delle ultime collaborazioni con ...

Ergo: As subtle as tomorrow

by Glenn Astarita
April 9, 2016

The premise for this album is based on a succinct Emily Dickenson poem, As Subtle as Tomorrow with the verse allocated to the individual track titles. Subtle is an adjective that parallels the trio's chief mode of operations. The band's muse is nestled somewhere within an existential progressive jazz format, layered with ambient-electronic treatments and hearty doses of improv. They also interlace minimalist sojourns, partly due to pianist's Sam Harris' harmonically driven ostinato phrasings. Thus, appealing melodies often serve as ...

Ergo: If Not Inertia

by Glenn Astarita
May 25, 2012

A few decades ago, it wasn't evident that computers could become an integral component to music, other than some experimental persuasions set forth by the likes of eminent modern jazz trombonist George Lewis, who helped pioneer live electronics. But trombonist Brett Sroka carries the torch, yet in a different or, perhaps, more subtle light. With first-call avant-garde guitarist Mary Halvorson injecting her sinewy, odd-tuned phrasings, and acoustic guitarist Sebastian Kruger appearing on one track of If Not Inertia, the band's ...

Ergo: Multitude, Solitude

by Elliott Simon
March 6, 2010

During the past two decades, electronic music has solidified its initial uneasy alliance with acoustic jazz. Newer releases such as Ergo's Multitude, Solitude are able to get past that original awkward balance and meld electronics with jazz improvisation and instrumental technique. The result is a trio that interacts like one but also accesses the broader sound palette and ambience that electronics allow. On most tunes, trombonist Brett Sroka remains at the music's center and in only rare ...

Ergo: Multitude, Solitude

by Nic Jones
January 16, 2010

This is a trio working the electro-acoustic margins, as the instrumental line-up might suggest; and whilst Ergo's music often flirts with ambient notions, there is equally a predominant air of unease about their work, as if by mutual consent they can only reach a kind of uneasy rapprochement with both silence and the moment.

The air of the unresolved--which is also sometimes symptomatic of their work--could similarly be the outcome of shared resolve. Indeed without that air the lengthy “Vessel" ...

Ergo: Multitude, Solitude

by Glenn Astarita
January 8, 2010

Keyboardist Carl Maguire is a multifaceted artiste, often-heralded for his work in various jazz-related formats for Between The Lines, MoonJune Records and other progressive record labels. On this trio's second CD, Maguire, trombonist/computer operator Brett Sroka and drummer Shawn Baltazor spawn an experimental muse, where rigid definitions or categorizations, justifiably fall flat. Essentially, the respective artists rely on synergy and intuition to get the job done. And that is a good thing, since the cutting-edge aspects translate into an endearing ...

Ergo: Multitude, Solitude

by John Kelman
January 4, 2010

As jazz leans away from characteristics that so defined its earliest days, groups are emerging with unorthodox instrumental combinations, fleshed out by the vast potential of technological soundscaping. Ergo, at its core, seems as unconventional as they get--trombone, keyboards, drums--creating music that wouldn't have been possible before relatively recent innovations in sound processing and sampling/looping. Its 2005 indie debut, Quality Anatomechanical Music Since 2005, received significant critical acclaim, making its follow-up on the better-distributed Cuneiform label a sure bet for ...