Turbulence PEK Zach Dan Trio
Incompressible Flow
Excerpt from Bruce Lee Gallanter Review
“… Things build slowly as the three horns play tentatively at first, calm and steady. What I find most intriguing is that has found a way to experiment with a variety of rare and not-so-rare reed instruments, hence there are a number of odd combinations: several double reeds like English horn contrabassoon & sheng along with various saxes and clarinets. The trio methodically pick one reed at a time and explore calmly, slowly. From the occasional Sun Ra Arkestra-like bent-note sax blasts to more thoughtful, calmly paced sections… The balance of extremes is well chosen and selectively paced. Another choice disc from the deluge of Leap of Faith releases.”
Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
Excerpt From Liner Notes by PEK
“… Zack Bartolomei and Dan O’Brien joined the Evil Clown roster a while back and have played with Leap of Faith, Leap of Faith Orchestra, and other projects. They go way back with each other. I love it when I find a group of improvisers who have long history with each other who are eager to participate since the whole ensemble benefits from the prior experience of the sub-units. In July 2017, we did a trio (Agitation) at Evil Clown Headquarters which was excellent.…”
Incompressible Flow
Turbulence
Evil Clown Headquarters, Waltham MA
– 15 March 2018
Fluid Parcels 1:10:15
PEK – alto, tenor & bass saxophones, clarinet & contralto clarinet, alto flute, English horn, contrabassoon, sheng, accordion, slide whistle, metal, wood, hand chimes, voice
Zach Bartolomei – alto & soprano saxophones, flute, log drums, balafon, glockenspeil, metal, wood, voice
Dan O’Brien – tenor & baritone saxophones, clarinet & bass clarinet, flute, piccolo, hand chimes, metal, wood
Bruce Lee Gallanter Review
TURBULENCE With PEK / DAN O’BRIEN / ZACK BARTOLOMEJ – Incompressible Flow (Evil Clown 9171; USA) Featuring PEK on alto, tenor & bass saxes, clarinets, flute, English horn & bassoon, sheng & percussion, Dan O’Brien on tenor & bari saxes, clarinets, flutes & percussion and Zack Bartolomej on alto & soprano saxes, flute, balafon & percussion. The core of Leap of Faith was Dave Peck, Glynis Lomon, Steve Norton & Yuri Zbitnov. When Steve Norton moved away, Mr. Peck has replaced him with two younger reeds players: Dan O’Brien and Zack Bartolomei. Turbulence is an offshoot of Leap of Faith, with three previous discs with varying personnel. This current disc, features a mainly a reeds trio, with each member playing an assortment of reeds and percussion. As the Leap of faith Orchestra gigs continue to expand, Mr. Peck has consistently found a large number of kindred spirits in the Boston area. This disc was recorded at Evil Clown Headquarters (PEK’s home studio?) and has warm, clear sound. It starts with two or three flutes with occasional added percussion, thoughtful and dreamy, restrained at first. Things build slowly as the three horns play tentatively at first, calm and steady. What I find most intriguing is that has found a way to experiment with a variety of rare and not-so-rare reed instruments, hence there are a number of odd combinations: several double reeds like English horn contrabassoon & sheng along with various saxes and clarinets. The trio methodically pick one reed at a time and explore calmly, slowly. From the occasional Sun Ra Arkestra-like bent-note sax blasts to more thoughtful, calmly paced sections. I like the title of this unit, Turbulence, although not everything is that turbulent. The balance of extremes is well chosen and selectively paced. Another choice disc from the deluge of Leap of Faith releases.
Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
Liner Notes by PEK
I formed Turbulence in 2015 as I started to assemble players for the Leap of Faith Orchestra. Turbulence, the extended horn section for the Orchestra (along with guests on other instruments), also records and performs as an independent unit. As if this writing in March of 2018, we have had about 20 albums on Evil Clown with greatly varied ensembles. The only musician on all of them is myself. The sessions range from an early duet with Steve Norton and Myself (Vortex Generation Mechanisms) to a 5 horn band with bass and two percussionists (Encryption Schemes) to four albums by the side project Turbulence Doom Choir which feature myself, multiple tubas, percussion, electronics and signal processing.
Zack Bartolomei and Dan O’Brien joined the Evil Clown roster a while back and have played with Leap of Faith, Leap of Faith Orchestra, and other projects. They go way back with each other. I love it when I find a group of improvisers who have long history with each other who are eager to participate since the whole ensemble benefits from the prior experience of the sub-units. In July 2017, we did a trio (Agitation) at Evil Clown Headquarters which was excellent.
At Evil Clown Headquarters there is a ton of exotic percussion and other instruments and all four of us make many palate changes. This naturally results in the steady flow of transformations through highly varied sonorities presented here. This is a highly effective trio version of Turbulence that we plan do again in the future.
Raffi Photos
