WHAT HAPPENS IN A YEAR - cérémonie/musique
FiP Recordings fpcd01
Josh Sinton: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet; Todd Neufeld: electric guitar; Giacomo Merega: electric bass
Recorded July 21st 2018, at Oktaven Studio, Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, NY 10701, USA
The music herein is, first of all, soft and expansive, and then encompasses entirely spontaneous improvisation. Oddly enough, the original concept was to record the prime, improvised performances and for Sinton to turn the sonic materials into compositions. Following their first meeting, it became clear that the mysteries of the musical expressions rendered any composition redundant.
Josh Sinton is an award-winning baritone saxophonist, bass clarinettist, flautist and composer. He has been the leader of numerous groups and has studied/worked with Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Ingrid Laubrock, Roswell Rudd and others.
Todd Neufeld is an acoustic and electric guitarist, based in Brooklyn, NY. He has performed and/or recorded with Lee Konitz and Gerald Cleaver among others. Giacomo Merega is a virtuoso bass guitarist, improviser and composer who has been a significant figure in the New York improv/new music scene for over a decade. He has performed with acclaimed musicians Mat Maneri, Joe Morris and Steve Swallow, among many others.
The music which the trio generates sounds just like the title of the album, cérémonie/musique, a ritual in sonic terms. There is karma in the ceremony stemming in part from the affinity between the musicians, but also from the soundscapes they produce. I see here an unanticipated convocation of minds, at times melancholy, then jolting and quaking and quiet, leading to an austere and funereal atmosphere, often such a large part of any ceremonial ambience. I’m happy with this perception as it reflects, satisfactorily, the trio’s realisation that composition was superfluous.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
FiP Recordings fpcd01
Josh Sinton: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet; Todd Neufeld: electric guitar; Giacomo Merega: electric bass
Recorded July 21st 2018, at Oktaven Studio, Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, NY 10701, USA
The music herein is, first of all, soft and expansive, and then encompasses entirely spontaneous improvisation. Oddly enough, the original concept was to record the prime, improvised performances and for Sinton to turn the sonic materials into compositions. Following their first meeting, it became clear that the mysteries of the musical expressions rendered any composition redundant.
Josh Sinton is an award-winning baritone saxophonist, bass clarinettist, flautist and composer. He has been the leader of numerous groups and has studied/worked with Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Ingrid Laubrock, Roswell Rudd and others.
Todd Neufeld is an acoustic and electric guitarist, based in Brooklyn, NY. He has performed and/or recorded with Lee Konitz and Gerald Cleaver among others. Giacomo Merega is a virtuoso bass guitarist, improviser and composer who has been a significant figure in the New York improv/new music scene for over a decade. He has performed with acclaimed musicians Mat Maneri, Joe Morris and Steve Swallow, among many others.
The music which the trio generates sounds just like the title of the album, cérémonie/musique, a ritual in sonic terms. There is karma in the ceremony stemming in part from the affinity between the musicians, but also from the soundscapes they produce. I see here an unanticipated convocation of minds, at times melancholy, then jolting and quaking and quiet, leading to an austere and funereal atmosphere, often such a large part of any ceremonial ambience. I’m happy with this perception as it reflects, satisfactorily, the trio’s realisation that composition was superfluous.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
