Leap of Faith (2015 to Present)
Centroids
Review by Bruce Lee Gallanter (full text below)
“… While listening to the second half of this hour long disc, the music reminded me of way life is right now: ridiculous, hard-to-believe, explosive, too intense at times with occasional moments of humor or low-key reflection…”
Centroids:
Leap of Faith
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA – 11 January 2017
Hyperplanes of Symmetry – 1:00:17
PEK – alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, contra-alto clarinet, oboe, dulzaina, contrabassoon, aquasonic, melodica, daxophone, [d] ronins, ms-20, metal, taxi horn, bull roarer, voice
Glynis Lomon – cello, aquasonic, voice
Dan O’Brien – tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, flute
Zach Bartolomei – soprano & alto saxophones, metal, melodica, crotales
Yuri Zbitnov – drums, balafon, crotales, bells, metal, wood, [d]ronins, bull roarer, fog horn, voice
Review by Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
LEAP OF FAITH [PEK / GLYNIS LOMON / DAN O’BIEN / ZACH BARTOLOMEI / YURI ZBITNOV] – Centroids (Evil Clown 9128; USA) Featuring PEK on saxes, clarinets, double reeds, saxophone, etc; Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic; Dan O’Brien on tenor sax, clarinets & flutes; Zach Bartolomei on soprano & alto saxes, melodica & metals and Yuri Zbitnov on percussion, balafon and metals. This set was recorded at Evil Clown Headquarters on January 11th of this year (2017), less than 2 months ago. After the departure of original member reedman Steve Norton last year, Leap of Faith have continued and evolved with assorted new members taking his place. This disc features two new reed players: Dan O’Brien and Zach Bartolomei, two new names for me. The core remains: PEK, Ms. Lomon and Mr. Zbitnov.
Like many of the Leap of faith sessions, this one begins slowly with a somewhat ritualistic aura. Several clarinets or other reeds, cymbals, assorted metal percussion give this an Art Ensemble of Chicago-like vibe. Moments are stripped down and filled with suspense, an edge-of-your-seat preparation. Several combinations of instruments stand out: marimba, cello, melodica and chattering saxes or clarinets midway is particularly mind-blowing! Since PEK collects rare reeds from around the world as well as a wealth of percussion and metals, the group systematically moves from one combination of instruments. Is this truly metal chaos?!? I think not.
As far as this unit goes all out, they always remain focused and somehow connected. Like most LoF discs, this one also has a deranged vocal section with cartoon-like odd characters cut loose from the asylum. This section is pretty short but works well as a bridge between other weird worlds. While listening to the second half of this hour long disc, the music reminded me of way life is right now: ridiculous, hard-to-believe, explosive, too intense at times with occasional moments of humor or low-key reflection.
Yet another twisted treasure from the deluge of great Leap of Faith discs.
– Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
Photos by Raffi
