Maya Homburger & Barry Guy - Tales Of Enchantment (Intakt, 2012)

By Stef  

Often in improvised music, rawness and muddiness and even some roughness and extended techniques are essential to the music. Sounds have to collide in order to form something new. On the other end of the spectrum you have classical music, with its incredible attention to the purity and accuracy of the sound.

Nobody but British bassist Barry Guy has been able to combine both in his music. The technical precision of Barry Guy on his five-string double bass (possibly only equalled by Miroslav Vitous) and of his partner in life, baroque violinist Maya Homburger, enable to unify both ends of the spectrum like few others can.

They've played together on a variety of albums, some of which were reviewed earlier on this blog. Like on other albums (Aglais, Inachis, Dakryon, Star), the compositions are either classical or by Barry Guy himself, and by doing so offer an interesting image of pure music, in which genres are no longer of importance, making the overall emphasis on feeling and esthetic even stronger.

The album starts with "Veni Creator Spiritus", a 9th Century hymn, followed by Guy's eight part "Hommage to Max Bill", a Swiss artist and designer, then follow some Biber compositions, the Swiss composer and violinist whose work is among Homburger's favorites, and she has played his oeuvre on many occasions. The central piece is by the Hungarian contemporary composer György Kurtág, around which the album's structure is mirrored.

Guy's compositions add a strong contemporary feeling to the music, full of distress, suspense, danger and anger, aspects that are often lacking in classical music, and that complete the more detached abstract compositions by Biber.

Like with their previous albums, you wonder at the absolute beauty of the playing while at the same time you can be surprised by the boundary-breaking approach in Guy's compositions-improvisations, but also by his introduction of - somewhat iconoclastic - improvised moments in the classical pieces. I'm sure classical purists will call this a disgrace and jazz and modern music afficionados will call this approach conservative, but the truth is : this is a truly great and cohesive album, regardless.

Absolutely impressive and pretty unique. In my opinion one of the best albums of the year. And even if the duo has done this before, they've clearly outperformed themselves on "Tales Of Enchantment", and the title couldn't be more precise.


Watch them play Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Rosenkranz Sonata on the video below. It is not from the album but it gives a good idea what the music is all about.


© stef

Read More

Weekend Roundup: November

By Dan Sorrells

An attempt at a new format: bite-sized morsels of jazzified goodness. This weekend we’ve got dueling duos with Dominic Lash, a new look at the old with Aki Takase, and two unusual outings with Swedish legend Sven-Åke Johansson.


Dominic Lash & Chris Cundy – For Plump Daughters (Creative Sources, 2012) ***½

Clocking in at eighteen tracks, For Plump Daughters might have been a grueling marathon slog. Instead, it’s a continually engaging entwining of bass: double and clarinet. Lash and Cundy are able to find all the right ways to lock their instruments together. Both have great knowledge of various “extended” playing methods, but the result is never harshly abstract or unhinged. Just the opposite, really. It’s an elegant, emotive album that at times simply soars. The track title “Gravity Leaves” about sums it up. Pleasing, pleasing tones.


Denman Maroney & Dominic Lash – All Strung Out (Kadima, 2012) ***

Bassist Dominic Lash spends about an hour trying to keep up with Maroney and his “hyperpiano.” The two establish an interesting dialogue throughout, though the album does drag a bit by the end. Maroney plies all manner of sounds out of the inside of his piano, muting and strumming strings, occasionally mustering orchestral sonorities that remind me of Romanian composer Horaţiu Rădulescu’s “Sound Icon,” a grand piano laid on its side and played with bows. Good stuff, if not quite as inspired as the duo with Chris Cundy.


Aki Takase – New Blues (Enja, 2012) **½

New Blues finds Takase and a cast of modern greats hammering through some old-time stride and swing tunes and a few Takase originals. It’s an eccentric album, but not always in a good way. It’s hard to jive the tumultuous, angular “New Blues” with the over-the-top vocal performance that follows on “The Joint is Jumpin’.” Don’t get me wrong—it’s a fun tune, as are the others Eugene Chadbourne lends vocals to, but they’re hammed-up in a way that borders on unwelcome comedy and can make for a disjointed, uneven listen. Still, totally worth a shot for originals like “So Long Knut” and “Late Spring,” which sets an e.e. cummings poem to delicate music.


Sven-Åke Johansson- Für Paul Klee (Jazzwerkstatt, 2012) ****

Mr. Johansson does dramatic readings of Paul Klee’s poetry, all while backed by a killer line-up that includes Aki Takase, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Axel Dörner, Paul Lovens, and Werner Dafeldecker. The music ranges from fairly abstract to quite lyrical, but comes across as nearly cinematic in scope. I can’t sit and listen without picturing choreography, theatre, a silent film—hell, even Klee’s own colorful geometries swirling and re-shuffling. As I’m not a German speaker, I have no idea if there’s any literary merit to Klee’s poetry. However, comprehension aside, there’s a great aesthetic pleasure in Johansson’s delivery. An album that’s both relaxing and stimulating.


Sven-Åke Johansson– Große Gartenbauausstellung (Olof Bright, 2012) ***

Große Gartenbauausstellung, recorded with Axel Dörner and Andrea Neumann, is an album that often seems devoid of humanity. This isn’t a slight to the musicians, but rather a result of their concerted effort. A lot of it is just…hard to place. It shuffles along faintly, murkily, morphing through various patterns of quiet noise. Source instruments are often obscured, and the music is so focused on small, hushed details that the resonance of a crashing tom in “Hauptweg II” is genuinely startling, exciting even. These musicians have long been interested in poking around the underside of improvised music, and they come up with some powerful music in the process—if you’re willing to stop and listen closely.

Read More

Angelica Sanchez - Wires and Moss (Clean Feed, 2012) ***½

By Joe

What a magisterial opening to an album, 'Loomed' bumps into action giving a positive impression with the first melody. Here I am listening to Angelica Sanchez's 4th album(*) to date as a leader, a finely produced album of lovely melodies and searching solos. This is also the second album from Clean Feed with this line-up, Tony Malaby - saxes, Marc Ducret - guitar, Drew Gress - bass, Tom Rainey - drums and of course Sanchez - piano, and a very fine group it is.

The album is made up of six pieces which work on the development of melody and freedom. It's a concept that is gradually evolving throughout the modern jazz world. Structured melodies give way to open ended improvisations, sometimes wild and improvised, and others based on rhythms or melodic fragments used elsewhere. What gives these records, this one included, a very exciting side to them is the ability to interpret chord progressions using modern vocabulary. Lessons learnt from Albert Ayler, Braxton or Derek Bailey are now the norms, moving the art post-bop orientated improvisation into the realms of jazz for conservatory musicians. On this album tracks such as the fine opening 'Loomed' let the musicians probe areas that aren't necessarily suggested in the initial tune before working in a more melodic area that although semi-written inspires the musicians to find alternative vocabulary. 'Feathered Light' lets Tony Malaby weave intricate soprano lines that are neither tonal nor atonal. However before Malaby solos Angelic Sanchez opens up the material a little in the same way that Keith Jarrett did back in his classic Impulse years band of Paul Motian, Dewey Redman and Charlie Haden. In fact the music probably owes more to that era (style) than one would maybe think.     

'Soaring Piasa' finds Tony Malaby and Marc Ducret trading ideas before Angelica Sanchez gives the rhythm section some sort of harmony to work with. Drew Gress and Tom Rainey accompany her like a modern Bill Evans trio before the sax of Tony Malaby joins them by which time it's clear that the melody is being developed and prepared to lead the group towards the end of the piece. It's a very graceful and inventive piece that combines open soloing and classic melodic writing. the excellent 'Wire and Moss' which features Marc Ducret also works a little on the same idea. A sort of A-B-A structure with 'B' being the melody. 'Dore' has a dense melody full of rhythmic surprises. Gradually it lets the musicians find their own way, who then develop a more 'open' approach to the improvisation. 'Bushida' the final track is given over to Drew Gress who opens up the tune with a wonderful unaccompanied bass intro. The piece then moves gradually away into a dark melody that is punctuated by Tom Rainy's (almost rock) drumming which accompanies Marc Ducret rough solo and Tony Malaby's poly-harmonic(**) lines. 

It's a strong idea to finish an album that is certainly a pleasure to listen to. I imagine this will certainly be of interest for those who enjoy music that is 'new' in terms of jazz, yet aren't ready to jump directly into more abstract improvised music.                   

*= I could only find, and remember, the following : 'Mirror Me' (Omnitone), 'Life Between' and 'A Little House' on Clean Feed Records.

**= Sorry for the maths expression 'poly-harmonic', but somehow it seems to conjure up the idea of these atonal/melodic lines. 

You can buy the album from instantjazz.com.  

© stef

Read More

Big(ger) Band Free Jazz: Ratchet Orchestra & Sonic Liberation Front

By Paul Acquaro

I thoroughly enjoy orchestral music, big bands, symphonic adventures and daring arrangements, but I sometimes wonder, how do you pull off balancing writing and arranging with the spontaneity and subtle interactions found in smaller ensembles?

To present an entirely non-scientific and inconclusive answer, I offer two case studies, the 30 piece ratchet orchestra from Montreal and the sprawling Sonic Liberation Front from Philadelphia.


Ratchet Orchestra - Hemlock (Drip Audio, 2012) ****

According to a short bio, Canada's Ratchet Orchestra leader Nicolas Caloia has for over 20 years, "worked at creating a contemporary music generated by using accurately composed textures to channel collective improvisation."

If the guitar break about a quarter of the way into 'Dusty' can be used as illustration, Caloia succeeds astoundingly well. From a prickly drip of melodic snippets to a full on skronk, joined by other woodwind voices, to some classic Fender Rhodes comping, the delicate orchestration that kick off the album ('Winnow') give way to a full bodied group improvization. This is followed by the thoroughly composed and orchestrated snippet 'Yield', which is kind of fun light classical-pastiche. And so on through different approaches and styles, like 'Wish-Part 1' which is a avant-fusiony gem. While my attention drifted a tad towards the end, the closing 'Hemlock 2' snapped me back to attention.

There is a great deal of variety on Hemlock. It is thoughtfully constructed and there are moments of inspiration and spontaneity throughout. The group here is:

Jean Derome (Bass Flute, Piccolo et Flute), Craig Dionne (Flute), Lori Freedman (Clarinet), Gordon Krieger (Bass Clarinet), Cristopher Cauley (Soprano Sax), Louisa Sage (Alto Sax), Damian Nisenson (Tenor Sax), Jason Sharp (Bass Sax), Elwood Epps (Trumpet), Philippe Battikha (Trumpet), Tom Walsh (Trombone), Scott Thomson (Trombone), Jacques Gravel (Trombone), Thea Pratt (E flat Horn), Eric Lewis (Euphonium), Noah Countability (Sousaphone), Gabriel Rivest (Tuba), Joshua Zubot (Violin), Guido Del Fabbro (Violin), Brigitte Dajczer (Violin), Jean René (Viola), Gen Heistek (Viola), Norsola Johnson (Cello), Nicolas Caloia (Bass), Chris Burns (Guitar), Sam Shalabi (Guitar), Guillame Dostaler (Piano), Ken Doolittle (Percussion), Michel Bonneau (Conga), Isaiah Ceccarelli (Drums), John Heward (Drums)

Listen here:

Sonic Liberation Front - Jetway Confidential (High Two, 2012) ***½

The Sonic Liberation Front seems like a collective. The inside fold of the CD has a color coded chart of who plays what on each track, but even without a key to unlocking thier sonic puzzle, you'll be quite entertained with the music. Citing the work of Sun Ra as a main inspiration, the group uses the celestial band leader as a jumping off point.

There is enough percussion and poly rhythms to satisfy ('uh uh') There is chanting and singing mixed in with the fractured grooves and tonal textures  ('Mother of 9') , some rather spacious and sweeping pieces ('Jetway Confidential #3 - for Sun Ra') and towards the later part of the disc some strong Afro-Cuban inspired pieces featuring some atmospheric intertwining of the guitar, woodwind and other horns ('Umami').

An album with a lot going on, requiring repeat listening and a willingness to just go where it will take you. The musicians:

Kevin Diehl; Chuckie Joseph; Edwin Lopez; Adwoa Tacheampong Joseph; Terry Lawson; Matt Engle; Todd Margasak; Julian Pressley; Dan Blacksberg; Travis Woodson: Jon Barrios; Olufemi Mitchell; Shaw Dade Beckett; Bankole Olaleye; Monique Temitope Carter-Beckett; Brent White; Dan Scofield; Baba Joe Bryant; Tom Lowery; Connor Przybyszewski; Bryan Rogers; D. Hotep; Bill Moos.


So, do I answer my original question? Honestly, I'm not sure. Elements of composition and free playing are approached here in two very different ways, from the quiet sonic constructions of Hemlock to the Afro-Cuban stylistics of Jetway Confidential, all I can definitively say is that there is indeed a lot of room under the free jazz tent and the music is fantastic


© stef

Read More

Ross Hammond - Revival Trio (self released, 2012) ***½

By Paul Acquaro

Consider me a fan of Ross Hammond's earthy tone and free but 'composed' approach. I first heard the Californian guitarist when I had a chance to review the free-jazz-rock  Adored this past winter. This new release, which is a document of a recent but now dormant project, The Revival Trio finds Hammond exploring African music, but still well within the aforementioned jazz-rock -- or maybe even jazz/folk-rock -- framework.

As Hammond explains, the impetus of the project was simply a desire to explore "African-influenced improv music -- a’la Abdullah Ibrahim, Ali and Vieux Farka Toure, Boubacar Traore and a few others." This combined with his own accessible and organic approach makes for an enjoyable aesthetic, which can sort of be described as a more muscular approach to the style that Bill Frisell touched on with his Intercontinentals.

Starting with the tune 'Ali' where a repetitive rhythmic line gives way to a powerful improvised melody, to the building intensity of "Littlepants" and "All Our Dogs", this group demonstrates its adeptness with African styles, while staying true to their own musical approach. Bassist Shawn Hale and drummer Vanessa Cruz are integral to the interweaving of the sinewy melodies and flowing rhythms.

Overall, the recording isn't quite as varied as Adored, but it is a compelling and quite satisfying listen. It's exciting to hear how musically adventurous this trio was, and while this group may not exist any longer, I'm sure something else will spring up in its place, perhaps building on the groundwork laid.

Listen and download at: http://rosshammond.bandcamp.com/album/revival-trio

Read More

Oren Ambarchi - Raga Ooty/Nilgiri Plateau (Bo'Weavil Recordings, 2012) ***½

By Paolo Casertano

In the last six months or so Oren Ambarchi has turned up like a bad penny (will this idiomatic sentence work as I think?). I can count at least six major releases - and I think I’m missing some others - spanning from the psychedelic explorations due to his involvement as a guest in the spectacular super rock n’ jazz group Fire up to the avant-garde aspects to be found in the long collaboration with his plausible mentor Keith Rowe. Yeah, other musicians are actually that fertile, but Ambarchi is - in my opinion - succeeding where others have failed. The creation of a magnetic, unmistakable, powerful tone that is per se an absolute value for everything he creates and for each collaborator he teams up with.

Let’s be honest, this collage of live recordings from different venues can be hardly considered a masterpiece if compared with ground-breaking works as 'Stacte' or the recent live recording on the Polish Bocian Records - I will review it sooner or later - again with Rowe and the interesting (and new to me) Crys Cole. And I will keep on suggesting until the end of my days a meticulous listening of the interpretation that Ambarchi delivered - again with Rowe - of an excerpt coming from Cornelius Cardew’s opus magnus 'Treatise'. But still, what else could you possibly ask to such a kind of work?

During the first track 'Raga Ooty' an extended sitar - they say this is a tambura but honestly I can’t tell them apart - drone allows Ambarchi to build a recursive, almost invariable, distorted phrasing for almost eleven of the total sixteen minutes lasting the track. That’s a raga, you know! You can do this with a simple and cheap looper pedal, but it is obvious that he’s here doing it live and with no overdubs. He controls dynamics; he controls the shades of distortion; he gives texture and polysemic values to a row, repetitive and not even so original portion of sound.  He’s taming the growth of the composition and you can absolutely feel it.  Plots of Nilgiri Plateau and the closing reprise of Raga Ooty are not that different. On the second track Ambarchi takes advantage of the overtones given by the 12 strings acoustic guitar, while in the final track is again the control of this guitarist on the quality of distortion that impresses me the most.

A little story now. When I was more or less a teenager, I was used with a friend of mine to do this silly trick of imagining implausible collaborations between totally different 'artists' (e.g. Karl Heinz Stockhausen playing bass with the early ‘80s English punk group Subhumans or the unforgettable and misjudged blonde pianist Richard Clayderman touring in a duo with the legendary hardcore singer G.G. Allin - more often we used peculiar artistic figures from Italy that luckily no one knows here). Why am I telling this? Because I dream now of a future collaboration between Ryhanna and Ambarchi that will give to the ephemeral pop creature some kind of dignity. He’s the only man who can do that!
He’s the chosen one.

Finally, I’m sorry, but I have a duty to signal the unwatchable cover of this release.

The label provides previews and sells the digital release or the vinyl limited edition.

Read More

Coat Cooke : Conversations and High Wire

By Paul Acquaro

Saxophonist, composer, band leader and figure on improvisation scene in western Canada, Coat Cooke is a player with a command of a wide range of styles and approaches. He recently released two very different and intriguing duo albums, one paired up with percussionist Joe Poole and the other with guitarist Rainier Weins.

Conversations w/ Joe Poole (Now Orchestra, 2012) **** 

Coversations is a collection of improvizations that really cook along. The first tune "Checkin' In" has Cooke quietly delivering melodic snippets with a slightly fuzzy tone. This tune keeps its intensity in check, and under Cooke's restrained melodies, Poole provides a lot of splash to keep the it buoyant. The improvisation that follows, "Feeling Fit" takes off with a stronger feel and engages in a little back and forth before they really start digging in into some heady lines and runs. A true highlight is the intense "Bob Weaver". Pooles drumming is so tight and propulsive that you can feel a moving baseline in between the two players. Each track has its own distinct flavor and feel. 

This is a solid recording and a great introduction to both musicians for me. Listening in on their conversations is enjoyable and their repartee doesn't miss a beat.

High Wire w/ Ranier Wiens (Now Orchestra, 2012) ***½ 

Now with guitarist Wiens, High Wire is actually a more percussive and textural affair than Conversations. Well named, this album is an document of daring acts on the sonic tight rope, and it's the sonic funambulism that gives this album its edge. Cooke balances on Weins' rhythms precariously, navigating deftly between Wiens' thumb piano wires and his percussive guitar work. A texturist, Rainier's approach to guitar is unusual and unexpected.
Overall, High Wire, to me, is not as captivating as Conversations but still full of original playing and fascinating ideas. 

Available through the NOW Orchestra (http://noworchestrarecords.com/) web site

 Subscribe

Read More

Sound Collision Alliance – 53:38 (Pan Y Rosas Discos, 2012) ***

By Paolo Casertano

In my opinion you must be quite brave to run a non-profit free jazz oriented netlabel for almost five year. Pan y Rosas Discos from Chicago (come on Martin!) has actually done that counting more than sixty releases on its side. I recently reviewed Julia A. Miller solo guitar effort and I’m now listening to this curious experiment entitled Sound Collision Alliance. The name doesn’t match completely with the result. There are some interesting crescendi with a valid deployment of noises, but generally I consider this as mainly ambient release.

Darren Bartolo, that probably cannot rely upon strictly Mandarin roots, plays the traditional Chinese zither gu zheng (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guzheng) and is joined by Sam Krahn on electric guitar and Sarah Ritch on electric guitar (another one, not the same), cello and laptop.

Obviously the recognizable presence of this unusual instrument (the zither or the laptop?) gives to the general cohesiveness of the sound a folkish taste. I kind of like the obsessive recursion of the first track and its development in a quiet dialogue between the strings. Structure of the second track is more adventurous. The cello, bowed and pizzicato, and some background accompaniment on a distorted electric guitar, plus an ethereal and perpetual synth note to amalgamate the whole, give to the composition an hypnotic pleasantness that bring us to a noisy closing. Structures of tracks three and four are similar. This is probably the most evident lack of this work. Sounds are well-chosen and I especially appreciate the amount of distortion assigned to one of the guitars. It’s really remarkable that this is the output of a six-hour session and I believe the three musicians are on the good way to develop a compelling interplay. It’s worth the listening.

A curiosity. I assume the title of the album is the total running time of the release. By the way my audio player says the four tracks last exactly 54.18. It never ever lies.

Listen and download for free here.

© stef

Read More

Monk, mostly

By Paul Acquaro

Alexander von Schlippenbach - Plays Monk Piano Solo (Intakt, 2012) ****½

Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach's Plays Monk begins with pianist's own tune 'Reverance'. The song fits wonderfully into the Thelonious Monk oeuvre in that it feels, well, reverent. But what does reverence with Monk mean? His playfully angular compositions are so open ended and modular and ripe for interpretation that it seems it would be irreverent to play them reverently. But Schlippenbach, who recorded the complete works of Monk a few years back with a quartet, is revisiting some of his favorite compositions on solo piano and working pretty closely within their original structures, revealing new depths to the tunes.

Schlippenbach's piano playing is just so spot on in these interpretations and every time I put this recording on I find myself lost in the lushness and expecting the unexpected chords. Schlippenbach toys with the time and tempos, and ties the songs together with short interludes that makes for an utterly enjoyable solo piano outing. I feel that the interpretations here bring out a more 'romantic' side of the songs, but still highlights the stride piano stylistics and flawlessly interpretes the melodies. His playing exudes a passion for the music and the thoughts that went to into creating their endlessly interesting  possibilities. Here though, the variation is found by digging deep into the original chords and melodies with such reverence that they are re-imagined just as they should be.


Chris Vasi - Monk's Playground (Fortuitous Records, 2012) ***½  

This was a lucky find on eMusic. In contrast to the more 'traditional' solo piano recording above, guitarist Chris Vasi takes a stab at reworking both the well known and more obscure songs from the Monk songbook and renders them with a somewhat modern jazz feel.  Joined by saxophonists Lou Hoff and Jonathan Gibson, drummer Forrest Young, and bassist Jonathan Wheelock, this is an overall enjoyable collection.

Vasi's approach on guitar is that he uses an unadorned tone and organic approach that really fits the music quite well. From the opening 'Let's Cool One', his arrangements stay true to the original melodies but the feel is updated by mixing in some unexpected elements. As the notes on CDBaby say, Vasi "re-imagines the music of Thelonious Monk, using elements of jazz, funk, odd-meter, New Orleans, Eastern, and flamenco."

A surprise for me was the delicate arrangement of 'Kojo No Tsuki (the Moon Over the Ruined Castle)', a song that Monk recorded under the title 'Japanese Folk Song.' I was unfamiliar with it but really enjoyed the contrasts between the sax and guitar in rendering it delicately but still with a bite. In fact, that may be a good way to describe these arrangements, as generally a mix of subtle shadings and a good deal of energy, taking on the mostly well known tunes in an enjoyable and playful manner.

Read More

Rob Mazurek Pulsar Quartet - Stellar Pulsations (Delmark, 2012) ****

By Philip Coombs

I have always imagined what it would be like to have an older sibling who had amassed a huge record collection from a past era. A dark room with vinyl everywhere just collecting dust waiting for a new generation of little fingers to delve in and spin them at random. There would be a magnetism and curiosity in finding a record like Rob Mazurek Pulsar Quartet's latest release 'Stellar Pulsations'. Even before playing track one, the album cover and track titles evoke a certain mystery. A subject matter rarely explored anymore but would fit in an older sibling's aural library. So I blow the imaginary dust off of this one and give it a listen.

'Primitive Jupiter' is the first stop for this intergalactic rocket ship manned by Mazurek (cornet), Angelica Sanchez (piano), Matthew Lux (bass guitar), and John Herndon (drums). They have all been deck hands or in the engine room on Mazurek's much larger ship 'Exploding Star Orchestra' so they are all well versed in navigating through meteors and space junk. This first track is very strong on melody which is pounded out by Sanchez as Mazurek dances around it as if he is defying his own gravity, which is fitting based on Jupiter's size.

'Spiritual Mars' is my favorite track on the album. It is in a perpetual state of introduction. In order to see how this works you need not to look any further than the engine room. Both Lux with his electric bass and Herndon are adding fuel to the engine at a monstrous rate propelling the ship into an eight and a half minute take off. Mazurek tries to calm them down but the power from the rhythm section is just too relentless to contain.

Unfortunately, the tracks 'Magic Saturn' and 'Spanish Venus', are not to my taste. They head in a direction of simple melodic balladry and rhythms. Strong statements, but not for me. It sounds like the group are waiting for Mazurek to save them from themselves. He tries calm and restrained and also tries Mazurek Runs the Voodoo Down.

'Twister Uranus' demonstrates what Sanchez can bring to the cockpit of the ship. The opening is beautifully played by her. Actually her magic touch can be heard all over the recording by filling in little holes left by the others or painting large pictures when enough space opens up.

So I put the album in a dark room in hopes that one day a child of mine or a distant relative pulls it out and gives it a spin. I would love to hear how the next generation of space dreamers would analyze it.

A clip of them can be viewed here:

© stef

Read More