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Neil Welch: Sleeper
ByAt times listening to this piece is like walking a tightrope, where tension and jubilance attain equal footing. With pumping horns and perhaps a few nods to composer Philip Glass's famed compositional style, based on minimalism and cyclical theme-building forays, Welch's music also features improvisational breakouts. Shifting tides and free-form dialogues are prominent factors contrasting the alternating flows. Towards the finale, the ensemble projects a lighthearted stance via disparate tonalities and sonorous textures, leading to a gushing sense of controlled-chaos tempered by a calming effect.
Sleeper usually moves along a slow to medium-tempo path, shaded with ascending climaxes and seamlessly executed time changes that help shape the course of action amid copious diversions. Semi-structured but sounding more composed then improvised, the artist instills a mood-evoking set of circumstances containing memorable melodies and stark environs. Indeed, this is a superior work of art that reveals additional rewards on subsequent listens.
Track Listing
Sleeper.
Personnel
Neil Welch
saxophone, tenorNeil Welch: tenor and soprano saxophones; Ivan Arteaga, alto and soprano saxophones; Jesse Canterbury: bass clarinet; Vincent LaBelle: trombone; David Balatero: cello; Natalie Hall: cello.
Album information
Title: Sleeper | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Tables & Chairs
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About Neil Welch
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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