Thirteenth Assembly, The

Station Direct

Label: Important Records Country: USA

"Station Direct is the second album from The Thirteenth Assembly, an ensemble featuring four distinguished musician/composers working together as equals to create distinctively eclectic, yet cohesive music. Drawing on years of collaboration, as well as its members' diverse backgrounds in genres including classical, folk, rock, jazz and the avant-garde, this collective ensemble has performed across the United States and Europe since 2007, and released its debut recording (un)sentimental (also on Important Records) in 2009.

"Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, guitarist Mary Halvorson, violist Jessica Pavone and drummer Tomas Fujiwara are among the most exciting new jazz musicians to emerge on the New York scene," declares the Wall Street Journal's Martin Johnson, "and it is hard to talk about any one of these players without mentioning the others. Each of these musicians is a masterly soloist, and they all are creating music that is delicate, complex and eclectic."

Critics have credited the group with "truly remarkable capabilities" (Nick Storring, Exclaim!), "a knack for detailed and apropos framing of each others' solo turns" (Bill Meyer, Dusted) and "an admirably relaxed sense of self, and a shared conviction to keep all options open" (Nate Chinen, New York Times). AllAboutJazz.com's Troy Collins adds, "The unified ensemble sound of The Thirteenth Assembly is centered around empathetic communication and a willingness to subvert ego for the good of the group; there is no grandstanding here, only four longstanding friends conspiring to make adventurous yet accessible music. A stunning achievement, (un)sentimental demonstrates the endless possibilities of contemporary music by players at the top of their game."-Important Records