The Squid's Ear Magazine


Clearfield, Rob / Quin Kirchner: Concentric Orbits [VINYL] (Astral Spirits)

An active and creatively absorbing duo between Chicago drummer Quin Kirchner and French-based pianist Rob Clearfield, recorded spontaneously during the sessions of The Shadows and The Light, with one extended improvisation per side, alternating between percolating rhythms of quick witted exchanges to gorgeous lyrical moments of hanging piano figures.
 

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Personnel:



Rob Clearfield-piano

Quin Kirchner-percussion


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Pressing of 300 copies on black vinyl.

Label: Astral Spirits
Catalog ID: AS180/STR006
Squidco Product Code: 31987

Format: LP
Condition: Sale (New)
Released: 2022
Country: USA
Packaging: LP
Recorded at Decade Music Studios in Chicago, Illinois, on September 17th, 2019, by Nick Broste and Brian Sulpizio.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"An intimate duo setting with France-based pianist Rob Clearfield. Concentric Orbits is Clearfield & Kirchner's gorgeous debut recording as a duo, although they have a long history of playing together over the years in Chicago.

You will likely remember Clearfield from his standout playing on Kirchner's The Shadows and The Light (2020, Astral Spirits), and here on Concentric Orbits he takes a bit more of the foreground on the piano with Kirchner's solid, driving support moving the proceedings along.

The two sidelong tracks offer different sides of the duo; "Orbit 1" dives in with a insistent and repetitive left piano groove that eventually unfolds into a splattering of free improv that subsides. Cymbals, bells and more from Kirchner lead us through the second half of the track, with Clearfield continuing variations on the original ostinato through to the ending. "Orbit 2" jumps out immediately with a percussive attack complimented by Clearfield's prepared piano that mirrors the percussive sounds without overpowering. Kirchner's groove rides powerfully through the majority of the track, with some truly stirring playing from Clearfield on the second half.

It's worth noting that Concentric Orbits came out of the same sessions as Kirchner's The Shadows and The Light. Clearfield & Kirchner happened to find themselves at the session earlier than the other musicians and decided to roll tape. The loose "let's see what happens" vibe helps give focus to why Concentric Orbits is so beautiful and important without being self-important. Even though it may not have seemed as substantial as Kirchner's album at the time, it stands on equal footing as yet another beautiful document of these players growth and maturity."-Astral Spirits



"When we were recording The Shadows and The Light, it was tricky to coordinate because I had 8 other people on the session over a couple days and no one could be there the whole time. One of the reasons we were doing the session that week was because I knew Rob was going to be in town from France and I definitely wanted him to play on it. As it turned out, he and I were the only musicians able to be there first thing on the second day, so I suggested we just record some duo things. Without any planning we just dove in, and what you hear on this album are the first two pieces we played, in order. We also did a third one - I used my sampler and Rob switched to Wurlitzer - and what we made eventually became Batá Chop on Shadows, after adding Matt Ulery & Greg Ward. I originally thought I'd use excerpts of our improvisations as vignettes on the album, but after taking in all the material from our session, it became clearer to me and Rob that it was kind of great on its own and we ought to keep it that way. We're happy to finally be presenting it to you now."-Quin Kirschner


Pressing of 300 copies on black vinyl.

Artist Biographies

"

Hailing from Oak Park, IL, pianist, guitarist, composer, and improviser Rob Clearfield grew up steeped in music. After a childhood filled with garage bands, gospel choirs, South American guitar ensembles, and everything in between, Rob moved to Chicago to study at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. During and after college, he embedded himself in the local music scene, residing in the city for fifteen years.

Over the course of his career, Rob has had the privilege of performing with artists such as John Wetton, Patricia Barber, Howard Levy, Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill, Eighth Blackbird, Greg Ward, and Itamar Borochov, among others. To date, he has released eight recordings of his original music, and currently co-leads the band "Persona" with saxophonist Caroline Davis. Their debut album "Anthems" was released in September 2019 on Sunnyside Records to critical acclaim.

In addition to performing and recording, Rob has also received commissions to compose for theater (Purdue University), film (The Lost Remake of Beau-Guest), and most recently, the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra in central Texas. He currently resides in Paris, France."

-Sounds and Notes Foundation (http://soundsandnotes.org/staff/rob-clearfield/)
3/25/2024

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

"Quinlan "Quin" Kirchner (born December 14, 1981) is an American jazz and improvisation musician (drums, percussion).

Kirchner received lessons from the age of ten at the Academy of Movement and Music and Merit Music Program of Chicago. With a scholarship from the Basin Street Scholarship, he studied at the University of New Orleans at age 18 with Ricky Sebastian, Jason Marsalis, Troy Davis and Johnny Vidacovich. He earned a bachelor's degree in jazz studies and worked in New Orleans u. a. with Jeff Albert, Irene Sage and Ed Petersen. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Kirchner moved to New York City, where he received his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music under John Riley graduated before returning to Chicago. There he works since then u. a. with Jeb Bishop, Daniele D'Agaro, AJ Kluth, Greg Ward, Dave Rempis, Matthew Golombisky and the formations flashing., From Beyond (inter alia with Katherine Young, Tim Haldeman), Zing!, Lucky 7s and Elliot Bergman's NOMO. In Germany, Kirchner joined Georg Gräwe and Tobias Delius as part of RUHR.2010 - European Capital of Cultureon. In the field of jazz he was involved between 2006 and 2012 in five recording sessions."

-Wikipedia (Translated by Google) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quin_Kirchner)
3/25/2024

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


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Orbit 1 17:19

SIDE A



1. Orbit 2 13:06

Related Categories of Interest:


Vinyl Recordings
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Chicago Jazz & Improvisation
Duo Recordings
Piano & Keyboards
Percussion & Drums
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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Astral Spirits.


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