Results for "umbra"

Umbra

Sam Comerford

Sam Comerford (b. 1991 Salem, MA, USA) is a musician and composer from Dublin, Ireland, living in Brussels, Belgium.

He composes for and leads the trio Thunderblender, whose critically acclaimed debut album Stillorgan (WERF records, 2020) was described by RTE Lyric FM as “the estrangement of the familiar”. Upcoming projects as a bandleader include a solo saxophone album based on the music of Irish fiddler Tommie Potts, a second album with Thunderblender, and the soundtrack of experimental horror film Hexham Heads.

Alongside his own musical activities he maintains a busy schedule touring and recording in various projects incorporating elements of jazz, improvised music, and Irish music. These include Lander & Gorik (BE) Neil Ó Loclainn’s Cuar (IE), Hendrik Lasure & warm bad (BE), Aerie (DE/IE/CH), Umbra (IE), Insufficient Funs (IE), Augusto Pirroda Septet (IT/BE), ODIL (BE/CH/FR), Mobilhome (BE), Utsav Lal & Ragas to Reels, Teh Trio (TW), Hayden Chisholm saxophone quartet (IE, 2013), and European Saxophone Ensemble (2012-13), led by Guillaume Orti.

Ronan Guilfoyle's Bemusement Arcade: At Swing, Two Birds

by Ian Patterson
May 13, 2025

If there were Grammys for the most punning name for a jazz band, or for the most enigmatic album title, then Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle could well bag a brace. The title of the wonderfully coined Bemusement Arcade's debut album is a wordplay on Irish humorist Flann O'Brien's At Swim Two Birds (Longman Green & Co., ...

Matt Otto: Umbra

by Gary Fukushima
January 14, 2024

In his 30-plus years in music, Matt Otto has, in addition to mastering improvising and training his ear to near perfection, learned to write incredibly complex compositions, challenging in every musical aspect: melodic, harmonic, rhythmic. Yet even now, his composing continues to evolve. “I feel like it's maybe less evolution than like going back ...

Umbra

By Matt Otto

Label: Origin Records
Released: 2023
Track listing: Little Things; Hawk; Mousai; Prez; Paw Paw; Umbra; Wanjiku; Esthesis; Melisma.

Little Things

August 24, 2023

Album: Umbra
By Matt Otto
Label: Origin Records
Released: 2023
Duration: 08:01

Matt Otto: Umbra

by Dan McClenaghan
August 9, 2023

This music--nine Matt Otto originals--has the feeling of shadowy sounds. Shapes without defined borders emerge. On the opener, “Little Things," the core trio--the leader plus bassist Jeff Harshbarger and drummer John Kizilarmut--are joined by Fender Rhodes player Matt Villinger and guitarist Alex Frank. The electronic resonance gives the sound an alluring and shadowy blur, as does ...

West

By Umbra

Label: Self Produced
Released: 2018
Track listing: L.A.; San Francisco; Intro to Portland; Portland; Intro to Seattle; Seattle; Vancouver.

Umbra: West

by Ian Patterson
September 15, 2018

American road trips have long inspired writers, from Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck and Tom Wolfe, to Hunter S. Thompson, Robert M. Pirsig and Bill Bryson. Fewer are the extended works, similarly inspired, written by musicians. Some things, it seems, may be easier put into words. Umbra's West is inspired by founding member Chris Guilfoyle's 2017 road ...

Umbra: Umbra

by Ian Patterson
December 31, 2016

Dublin guitarist/composer Chris Guilfoyle's Umbra has been around for half a decade, so its debut album can be seen as the product of patience and endurance. Critically acclaimed performances at the IMC's Down With Jazz and 12 Points festivals, as well as Bray Jazz, have helped raise the band's profile, but with band members not always ...