The Squid's Ear Magazine


Yuganaut: Sharks (Engine)

Eclectic and playful jazz from the trio of Tom Abss on bass instruments, Stephen Rush on keyboards, trombone and toys, and Geoff Mann on drums, percussion and trumpet.
 

Price: $12.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Stephen Rush-rhodes, moog, trombone, toys

Tom Abbs-bass, cello, violin, tuba, didjeridoo

Geoff Mann-drums, percussion, trumpet


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 825481000345

Label: Engine
Catalog ID: e034
Squidco Product Code: 12945

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2010
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack - 3 panel
Recorded October 16, 2009 at Audio Recording Studio, University of Michigan by Jason Corey and DAvid Greenspan. Mixed by Geoof Mann, Mastered by Steven Wolcott.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Calling the three members of Yuganaut "multi-instrumentalists" is a little too easy. What is needed is some kind of word that would connote being multiple bands. Between them they could be a small brass group, an electric chamber ensemble or a straight-ahead jazz trio. But such formal confines may not leave room for the moments of playfulness or the passages of spacey psychedelia that sneak in between their evocative and highly original sounds. Between them, band members Stephen Rush, Tom Abbs and Geoff Mann play Fender Rhodes and Moog synthesizer; trumpet, trombone and tuba; bass, cello and violin; and drums, toys and didgeridoo. Does that sound streamlined? Their previous release also included mandolin, euphonium and vibes.

More important than the listing of implements is the fact that the three gentlemen of Yuganaut are more than conscientious about leaving room in the music, not just for each other but to let the music grow. Between them they can boast of Reggie Workman's tutelage, performance with the Warsaw National Symphony and membership in the Fela-inspired Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. Which is to say there is tradition, formalism, groove and a sense of fun at play. They are at core, perhaps, a jazz band; but being a jazz band means (or should mean) that anything is possible. There's ritual, there's storytelling, they're contemplative, extrapolative, expressive, even impressive. Yuganaut is not here to be pigeon-holed. They're just here to play for you."-ESP


Artist Biographies

"Stephen Rush is a Professor at the University of Michigan, where he has taught since 1987. He studied with third-stream pioneer Gunther Schuller, David Liptak and Samuel Adler, and is the author of the new book, "Free Jazz, Harmolodics and Ornette Coleman," which includes extensive interviews with Ornette.

Rush's compositional output includes six operas, chamber music (some of which is standard repertory), orchestra work and over 150 scores for dancers. His compositions have been recorded and performed worldwide by the Warsaw and Detroit Symphonies and members of the New York and Cleveland Philharmonics, and recently, classical ensembles in Spain, Korea, and Switzerland. As a performer, Rush has presented his multi-media work in Japan, Europe (Florence, Berlin, and Budapest, etc.), Latin America, and India. He has over 30 CD's to his credit ranging from electronic experimental music, orchestra performances, chamber music, and jazz. He works often with his electronic group, "Crystal Mooncone" with Chris Peck and Jon Moniaci, as well as with his acoustic jazz group, "Naked Dance" with Andrew Bishop and Jeremy Edwards.

Rush is the director of the Digital Music Ensemble (DME) at the University of Michigan. With DME, Rush has premiered works by John Cage, Philip Glass, and LaMonte Young, and has recorded with Pauline Oliveros and "Blue" Gene Tyranny. The group has also worked with Alvin Lucier, Robert Ashley, Pamela Z and Elliott Sharp. DME is widely known for its site-specific work, "Gypsy Pond Music", which is performed annually at the University of Michigan and elsewhere.

Stephen Rush works frequently as a jazz musician, performing with Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Grimes, Steve Swell, Eugene Chadbourne, the late Peter Kowald, and his own New York-based-trio Yuganaut, with Tom Abbs and Geoff Mann (including a new release on Nessa Records with Roscoe Mitchell). His first book, Better Get It In Your Soul, discusses radical approaches to church liturgy.

He has studied South Indian Classical vocal music for twenty years with Sharada Kumar (Ann Arbor), Sashi Kumar (Varinasi, India) and Kamala Rajalakshmi (Mysore, India). For the last seven years he has taken a dozen students to India for one month in the summer to study Classical Indian Dance and Music, as well as Yoga, Philosophy and Sociology. His work in this area is recognized internationally, including frequent requests to speak about Indian Music and Culture in the U.S. and in India, with an invitation to be the keynote speaker at the International Peace Conference in Mysore, India, 2011.

He also has an interesting side-career, having publicly interviewed such varied luminaries as Laurie Anderson, Ravi Shankar, LaMonte Young, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Ornette Coleman, the Kronos Quartet, and revered Swami Chinmayananda."

-Stephen Rush Website (https://stephenjrushmusic.com/?page_id=2)
3/25/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Breakthrough/Zhu 4:05

2. Fade to Frenzy 3:33

3. Landfill/Sharks 6:18

4. Lost in the Field 5:13

5. See Saw 2:28

6. Local Motive 5:36

7. Vger 2:37

8. Wrenchwork 3:18

9. Again, and Sweetly 6:04

Related Categories of Interest:

ESP

Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Engine.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Art Ensemble of Chicago, The
We are on the Edge: A 50th Anniversary Celebration [2 CDS]
(Pi Recordings)
Marking 50 years for Chicago's most important and innovative ensembles, formed in 1969 to advance creative musicians as part of the AACM, is this tribute to and based on music written by late members Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, and Joseph Jarman, performed by 15 innovative musicians young and old, and presented in 2 CDs: one in the studio and one live at the 2018 Edgefest.
Other Recommended Releases:
Eye Contact (Heyner / Sawyer / Lavelle)
War Rug
(KMB Jazz)
The New York free improvising trio of Matthew Heyner (Test, Malkuth) on bass, Matt Lavelle on trumpet and clarinet and Ryan Sawyer (Tall Firs, Stars Like Fleas) on drums in the follow-up to their 2005 Utech double CD "Embracing The Tide / Making Eye Contact With God", an impressive release of expressive technique and ritualistic drive.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Chicago Plan, The (Swell / Ullmann / Lonberg-Holm / Zerang)
For New Zealand
(Not Two)
Featuring compositions from both trombonist Steve Swell and tenor saxophonist & bass clarinetist Gebhard Ulmann, the second album from The Chicago Plan with cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Michael Zerang is captured in the studio in Augsburg, Germany for six exceptional modern jazz recordings from a profoundly masterful and experienced transatlantic band.
Marcus, Michael
Stone Jump
(Not Two)
Michael Marcus composed these lyrical jazz works to create a message about "New York City realities", recorded in two studio sessions with Marcus on soprano & tenor sax, octavin, A clarinet & tarogato, along with Denton Darien on piano, John Austria on Fender Rhodes, Tyler Mitchell on bass, Warren Smith on drums & percussion, and Lawrence Feldman on alto flute.
Swell, Steve (w / Cyrille / Hwang / Bart / Lonberg-Holm / Boston)
The Center Will Hold featuring Andrew Cyrille
(Not Two)
An essential asset of the NY Downtown scene since the 70s, trombonist Steve Swell leads and composes for an exemplary and uniquely orchestrated sextet bridging generations: Jason Kao Hwang on violin, viola & electronics, Ariel Bart on harmonica, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello & electronics, Robert Boston on piano & organ, and Andrew Cyrille on drums & percussion.
Dijkstra / Bishop / Karayorgis / McBride / Gray
Cutout
(Driff Records)
The Boston-based quintet Cutout of Jorrit Dijkstra on saxophones, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Pandelis Karayorgis on piano, Nate McBride on bass, & Luther Gray on drums, in a set of free jazz pieces and virtual suites from original compositions and "instant-arranging" techniques from all band members, applying fresh ideas to superb playing with great camaraderie.
Thomson, Scott
Murray - Trombone Solos
(Tour de Bras)
Trombonist Scott Murray (Monicker, AIMToronto) performed this installment of his "Trombone Solos at Odd Hours" series by paying homage after the passing of his friend, painter and drummer John Heward, recording this concert at Heward's studio in his home on Murray Street in Montreal, in a far-ranging and emotional solo performance of fascinating technique and expression.
JeJaWeDa (Bishop / Blonk / Walter / Smith)
Pioneer Works Vol. 1 [CD + BOOKLET]
(Balance Point Acoustics)
The 1st of two volumes from the quartet of Jeb Bishop on trombone & electronics, Jaap Blonk on voice & electronics, Weasel Walter on percussion, and Damon Smith on double bass, each player an innovator and leader on their own, together bringing unique elements of virtuoso quirk and passionate mastery, merging voice, electronics and acoustics in profoundly unusual ways.
Bishop, Jeb / Matthias Muche
Duo
(Creative Sources)
Two trombones free improvising in the studio in Koln from the Duo of Chicago's Jeb Bishop and Cologne's Matthias Muche, both members of the trombone trio Bone-Crusher with Matthias Muller, this album recorded in the studio in Koln just before Bone-Crusher's "Konzert Fur Hannes" (NotTwo), elucidating this facet of the trio in 10 insightful dialogs of awesome technique and wit.
Dunmall / Swell / Owston / Sanders
So Perhaps
(FMR)
British saxophonist Paul Dunmall and American trombonist Steve Swell in a quartet with master drummer Mark Sanders and emerging UK bassist James Owston took the stage at Jubilee Center Birmingham, UK in 2019 for this dynamic album of collective improvisation, in a staggering concert of powerful technique and upbeat, ultimately swinging free jazz.
GGRIL [feat John Butcher / Isaiah Ceccarelli / Xavier Charles]
Facon [2 CDs]
(Circum-Disc)
The Quebec ensemble GGRIL of eclectic instrumentation, acoustic and electronic, with an open-minded approach to developing large-scale works bringing together approaches to improvisation and contemporary composition, here presenting three works from residencies with John Butcher, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Xavier Charles recorded from 2016 through 2018.
Giuffre, Jimmy 3 (w / Bley / Swallow)
Graz Live 1961
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
After introducing his new trio with pianist Paul Bley and double bassist Steve Swallow in two 1961 albums on Verve, clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre embarked on a tour of Europe, this recently discovered, well-recorded concert in Graf, Austria the perfect example of his unique concepts yielding intensely focused, harmonically challenging, rhythmically abstract, and exquisite chamber jazz.
Dyberg / Masing / Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Jacobson
Egin
(Creative Sources)
Recording live in Berlin at Werkhalle Wiesenburg, the quartet of Portuguese father/son string players Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, Danish saxophonist Mia Dyberg on alto sax, and Polish double bassist Tomo Jacobson present a precisely controlled concert of subtly detailed free improvisation using impressive technique and momentum.
Foster, Michael / Michael Zerang / Katherine Young
Bind the Hand(s) That Feed
(Relative Pitch)
Captured at Elastic in Chicago, the free improvising trio of Katherine Young on bassoon & electronics, Michael Zerang on percussion, and Michael Foster on soprano & tenor saxophones, use contrasting timbres and techniques throug wind instruments, percussion and electronics to create unusual and captivating dialog, evolving with great composure, a sense of wonder, and mastery.
Omelette
Live At The JazzLab
(FMR)
Australia's performing trio Omelette of Jordan Murray on trombone, Ronny Fereller on drums, and Luke Howard on piano follow up their 2014 album on Jazzhead with this live album, the trio joined by Chilean percussionist working in Melbourne Javier Fredes, for a lyrical and rhythmically rich live performance at Melbourne's JazzLab in 2017.
Wooley, Nate
Argonautica
(Firehouse 12 Records)
Trumpeter Nate Wooley's major 3-part work makes oblique reference to dodecaphony, ambient tape music, and the minimalist rock of Terry Riley, conceived as a tribute to Wooley's mentor Ron Miles, who performs alongside Devin Gray & Rudy Royston (drums), Cory Smythe & Jozef Dumoulin (piano).
Steerage
Entropy Is What The State Makes Of It
(Caduc)
An album of tones and tonal environments from Barry Chabala and A.F. Jones, using guitars and effects to create slowly moving tones punctuated with unusual utterances of unknown origin; rich and curiously non-specific sound that lives in the back- and foreground.
Murayama, Seijiro / Eric La Casa
Paris: Public Spaces
(Ftarri/Swarming)
Twelve recordings constructed from 2012 field recordings of public locations in Paris by Eric La Casa and Seijiro Murayama, including subway stations, parks, open gardens, tunnels and fountains; a fascinating portrait of communal sound in this great city.
Kahn, Jason / Tim Olive
Two Sunrise
(845 Audio)
The first meetings of Jason Kahn (analog electronic) and Tim Olive (one-string magnetic pickup device) recording in a studio session in Kyoto, 2012 for four eventful and intricately structured works with a distinct developmental momentum.
Davis, Matt / Phil Durrant / Mark Wastell
Confront Collectors Series
(Confront)
Re-issue of one of the earliest Confront releases, the trio of trumpeter Matt Davis, violinist Phil Durrant and cellist Mark Wastell performing subtle and sophisticated free improvisation at St. Michael's and All Angels church, Chiswick, London in 2000.
VCDC (Motland / Lonberg-Holm / Solberg / Gjerstad)
Insult
(FMR)
Following their 2011 album on the Norwegian Hispid label, the quartet of clarinetist Frode Gjerstad, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, drummer Stale Liavik Solberg and vocalist Stine Janvin Motland perform two excellent extended improvisations at Galleri Sult in Stavanger.
Nechustan, Alon
Ritual Fire
(Between the lines)
Pianist Nechusthan leads his powerful trio of bassist Ken Filiano & drummer Bob Meyers, plus clarinet legend Harold Rubin, in a Jackson Pollack-influenced action suite, 10 pieces of free improvisation following a larger structured process.
Various Artists
To Live And Shave In L.A. - The Grief That Shrieked To Multiply [3 CDs + Download]
(Monotype)
TLASILA was an experimental music collective founded in 1990 by composer Tom Smith; this 3 CD + download releases finds a massive cast of artists restructuring the improvisations from the "Noon and Eternity" album into a massive 240 minute work.
Tamura, Natsuki
Dragon Nat
(Libra)
Using Gato Libre's music as the direction for his first solo album since 2004, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura releases an album of powerful and personal playing with a surreal flow of ideas, impish humor, and restrained joy.
Kaze
Tornado
(Circum-Libra)
With two trumpets, drums and piano, Kaze's 2nd release with Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, and Muzzix members Christian Pruvost and Peter Orins, hits like the album title, but surprises with contrasts from torrential power to beautiful melodic interplay.
Fujii, Satoko New Trio
Spring Storm
(Libra)
A set of new trio compositions from pianist Satoko Fujii with bassist Todd Nicholson and drummer/percussionist Takashi Itani, a magnificent set of compositions for the transformative season.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC