The Squid's Ear Magazine


Fraser / McCowen / Weinberg: Thip [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tripticks Tapes)

Recorded primarily at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn and leveraging the natural resonance of that performance space, the New York trio of innovative improvisers Henry Frase on double bass, John McCowen on Bb and contrabass clarinets and Sam Weinberg on tenor & soprano saxophones explore the peripheries of their instruments in intense and reflective interplay.
 

Price: $8.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Henry Fraser-double bass

John McCowen-Bb clarinet, contrabass clarinet

Sam Weinberg-tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone


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




Label: Tripticks Tapes
Catalog ID: TTT004
Squidco Product Code: 31077

Format: CASSETTE
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Cassette
Tracks 1-4 recorded at Issue Project Room, in Brooklyn, New York, in April, 2019, by Jeremiah Cymerman.

Track 5 self-recorded in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, in October, 2020.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Thip is the first record of the trio of Henry Fraser, John McCowen, and Sam Weinberg. By the time McCowen moved to Brooklyn in 2017, Fraser and Weinberg had already played together in a number of contexts - duo, a trio with Weasel Walter, Maestro Day, et al. When they met McCowen, both were instantly struck not only by his virtuosity on both contrabass and B flat clarinets, but also his depth and seriousness. All three became close personal friends and the trio emerged from that friendship and the shared understanding that had already been forged.

Thip was recorded in April of 2019 at Issue Project Room and that space's eminent and notorious natural reverb is heavily reflected in the document - and dictated some of the aesthetic decisions that were made throughout the album. While there's a density to the music on Thip, there's also a kind of elasticity and patient suspension; a confident sense of form and a deliberate unfolding."-Tripticks Tapes


Artist Biographies

"Henry Fraser is a bassist, composer, and improviser from Boston, MA. He received his B.F.A. from New England Conservatory of Music in the spring of 2014, where he studied with Cecil McBee, John McNeil, Anthony Coleman, & Ted Reichman. Since moving to Brooklyn, NY in 2014, Henry's unique combination of technical facility and aesthetic flexibility have made him an in-demand sideman and formidable band leader. Henry has performed throughout Europe and South American, including suchfestivals as the Panama Jazz Fest and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Current projects include Michael Foster's The Ghost, the Chris Pitsiokos Quartet and Maestro Day, a quartet co-lead by saxophonist, Sam Weinberg, as well as regular collaborations with the likes of Joe Morris, Brandon Seabrook and Jack Wright."

-Henry Fraser Website (http://henry-fraser.com/about/)
3/13/2024

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

"John McCowen is a New York based composer and performer whose work focuses on extending the possibilities of the clarinet family. John embraces long-form drones, difference tones, and beating harmonics as a means to extrude the dimensionality within - treating the clarinet as an acoustic synthesizer. His works for ensemble utilize spectral techniques to superimpose the timbral/sonic characteristics of the clarinet onto a grouping of instruments. This may include the clarinet as a solo instrument while the ensemble functions as a resonant system.

John was a founding member of the Chicago avant-rock group, Wei Zhongle, where he performed on amplified clarinet/electronics. His most recent release of three compositions for solo contrabass clarinet, Solo Contra (IARC0015), is out now on International Anthem Records. His discography includes releases on International Anthem, Astral Spirits, Cairn Desk, NNA Tapes, New Atlantis, Self Sabotage, Edible Onion, and DAAANG. He has toured extensively throughout North America as well as trips to Europe and Asia. These performances/spaces include Le Guess Who Festival(NL), Norður og Niður Festival(IS), Hot Air Music Festival, Bowling Green New Music Festival, Supersonic Festival(ENG), Berkeley Art Museum(BAMPFA), The Stone, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, International Clarinet Festival 2014, and more. John was the 2017 artist-in-residence at Lijiang Studio in Yunnan, China. He received the Elizabeth Mills Crothers Award for music composition in 2016 from Mills College where he also received an MA in Music Composition."

-John McCowen Website (https://www.johnmccowen.com/about/)
3/13/2024

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

"Sam Weinberg is a Brooklyn based saxophonist, improviser and composer whose playing ranges from the textural and timbral to slippery and melodic. With equal footing in non-idiomatic free improvisation, free jazz, and notated musics, Weinberg attempts to push the language and capacity of the saxophone beyond its usual, assumed limits. Current outfits include Maestro Day, a quartet he co-leads with bassist Henry Fraser (along w Joe Moffett and Connor Baker) which explores novel forms of composition, structure and group interaction ; W-2 with synthesizist Chris Welcome, an abrasive, rhythmically abraded and contorted electro-acoustic duo ; Captain Phillips with snare drummer David Grollman which borrows performative elements and humor in its performances. Other improvised collaborations/ projects are many and varied and include the likes of Jaimie Branch, Jack Wright, Andrew Smiley, Brandon Lopez, Chris Pitsiokos, Jon Lipscomb and Weasel Walter.

For a year and a half, he was a curator at the weekly music series A.E. Randolph Presents at Bar Below Rye in S. Williamsburg, Brooklyn."

-Sam Weinberg Website (https://samweinbergsax.wordpress.com/about/)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Ayeda 10:00

2. Arunae 12:38

SIDE B



1. Nur 07:44

2. Thaanps 12:35

Related Categories of Interest:


Cassettes
Physical Releases that include Download Codes
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
Recordings Utilizing the Natural Resonance of a Space

Search for other titles on the label:
Tripticks Tapes.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Wooley, Nate / Mutual Aid Music
Four Experiments [4 CD BOX SET]
(Pleasure of the Text Records)
Engaging an expanded version of the ensemble from his Mutual Aid Music, trumpeter Nate Wooley provides scores for his players in various configuration that challenge concepts of group composition, instrumental sound and resonance, idealized tones and the human voice, the development of melody and harmony in compositions, &c.; performers include Wooley, Seymore Wright, John McCowen, Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Cory Smythe, Luke Stewart, Eric Wubbels, &c.
Costa, Carlo / John McCowen
Pianissimo Etc [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
Powerfully rich sounds from two NY-based instrumentalists — John McCowen on contrabass clarinet & Carlo Costa on bass drum & percussion — in a three-part work of acoustic improvisations, McCowen sounding deceptively electronic through overtones and masterful harmonic technique, while Costa's bass drum provides deep foundations as he mysteriously layers percussive distractions; phenomenal!
Seabrook, Brandon
brutalovechamp
(Pyroclastic Records)
Looking to create a sound realm that would reflect more life and less process, NY guitarist/banjo player Brandon Seabrook takes his 8-piece ensemble Epic Proportions on a truly epic journey through "lyrical melodies, dynamic improvisations and manic counterpoint", showing great evolution and development as a contemporary composer and player; "Brutal is beautiful".
Lijiang Quintet
Crossing A River By Rope
(fo'c'sle)
A rare and exuberant exchange of sonic discourse between Chinese and American improvisers recorded in the Yunnan Province of China at the Lijiang Studio artist residency, in a uniquely voiced quintet with Theresa Wong on cello & voice, Lao Dan on saxophone & bamboo instruments, John McCowen on clarinet & recorder, Li Xing on electric & acoustic guitars, and Deng Boyu on percussion & found objects.
Other Recommended Releases:
Playbackers (Silbert / Foam / Young)
Playbackers Record [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
Recording to 4 track cassette, this unusual and experimental Boston-area trio of active sound artists--Stella Silbert, Arkm Foam and Neil 'Cloaca' Young--improvise over abstract territory using turntables, a no-input mixer, objects, an open reel tape machine, contact mics, and cassette players, emerging with equally tongue-in-cheek and serious aural interactions.
Chang, Leo / Lucie Vitkova
Religion [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
Unusually orchestrated, spacious and exotic free improvisation from New York-based musicians Lucie Vítková, originally from Czech Republic and performing on accordion, hichiriki (a Japanese double reed flute), synth & harmonica, and Korean-born improviser Leo Chang performing on VOCALNORI (Amplified Gongs via Voice) and Piri (a Korean double reed instrument).
Fraser, Henry / Camilo Angeles / Jason Nazary
Aqrabuamelu
(Tripticks Tapes)
Mapping an improvisational framework onto a myriad of musical forms with contributions from each member, the trio of bassist Henry Fraser (NYC), drummer Jason Nazary (NYC) and flautist Camilo Angeles (PERU/CDMX) have collaborated in a number of configurations over the years, forming this specific and uniquely voiced trio in 2021 to record this mysteriously beautiful album.
Irarrazabal / Baldwin
Grips [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
Chilean double bassist, vocalist, improviser & composer Amanda Irarrázabal and Brooklyn double bassist Nat Baldwin in a live performance first-time meeting at the IRL concert space during Irarrázabal's week-long tour through NYC, this concert a profound meeting of deep strings, bowed, plucked and mutated through unique technical approaches to their instruments.
Liberatore, Matteo
Lacquer
(Tripticks Tapes)
A series of concise noise explorations from Italian-born, Brooklyn-based guitarist Matteo Liberatore, more typically heard in composed and improv/experimental forms including work with Elliott Sharp & Weasel Walter, here in an assertive album of guitar-driven analog synthesis & noise using unusual structures, alien utterances and intense twists and turns.
Baldwin, Nat
Autonomia II: Recombinations [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLAOD]
(Traced Objects)
Four unedited performances of extreme double bass work from Tripticks label leader Nat Baldwin, merging free playing with extraneous bass sounds, noise and unusual techniques, yielding a muscular set of double bass improvisations, the opening tracks building technique around fractured lyrical expression as the album builds to the closing "negation" of burning intensity.
Baldwin, Nat
The Red Barn [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
A short book of fiction depicting dark scenes from the ambience of extraordinary normalcy, descriptive texts insinuating horror from everyday occurrence, written by double bassist Nat Baldwin and published by Calamari Press in 2017, here in an audio version of excerpts narrated by Baldwin himself, performing on double bass through two panned tracks of unusual improvisations.
L'Ocell / Ferran Fages
El Declivi [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
The third release from the Barcelona-based experimental improvising duo L'Ocell of Chilean acoustic guitarist Fernando Carraso and Spanish double bassist Àlex Reviriego-double bass, here joined by guitarist Ferran Fages (a member of Phicus and Radium with Reviriego), for a set of mysteriously dark improvisations recorded live at Sant Roma de Mianigues church.
Relatives, The (Borden / McKain / Suarez)
The Relatives [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
Bringing together New York City and Philadelphia improvisers, the trio of T.J. Borden on cello, James McKain on tenor sax and Leo Suarez on drums, freely improvising through a "personally refined approach to pointillistic communication, interplay and the construction/demolition of static foundations" evolved through repeated sessions and live recordings.
Reviriego, Alex
Raben [CASSETTE W/ DOWNLOAD]
(Tripticks Tapes)
Spanish double bassist Alex Reviriego (Memoria Uno) in a solo album recorded by Ferran Fages in 2019, the second chapter of his "German Poets Trilogy" following his 2018 Blaue Tauben album, here inspired by the writings of Romanian-born poet Paul Celan in an intense and moving album of dense foreboding depicted through nine improvisations of heavy bowing, ruminative harmonics and dark friction.
CP Unit (Pitsiokis / Lisabeth / Fraser / Nazary)
Riding Photon Time
(Eleatic Records)
The first live album from the CP Unit led by alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos and his quartet with Sam Lisabeth on electric guitar, Henry Fraser on electric bass and Jason Nazary on drums & electronics, captured live at the 2018 Moers Festival in Germany in 8 compositions drawn from previous studio tracks and two new pieces; thrilling and brilliant modern jazz!
Pitsiokis, Chris Quartet ( w/ Smiley / Fraser / Nazary)
One Eye with a Microscope Attached
(Eleatic Records)
Taking an angular approach to modern jazz that reminds of Steve Coleman/Five Elements, New York alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos provides the compositions for the six improvisations on this live album recorded at Seizure's Palace, in Brooklyn in a quartet with Andrew Smiley on electric guitar, Henry Fraser on electric bass and Jason Nazary on drums.
Weinberg, Sam / Henry Fraser / Weasel Walter
Grist
(ugEXPLODE)
Hard-edged NY improvisation from the performing trio of Sam Weinberg on sax, Henry Fraser on bass and Weasel Walter on drums, who since 2017 have developed a group sound of powerful and fiercely determined free jazz roots using interesting instrumental technique, often muscular and urgent but also with periods of constrained interplay and dialog; an extremely well balanced band.
McCowen, John
Mundanas I - V
(Edition Wandelweiser Records)
Two clarinetists--John McCowen, also the composer, and Madison Greenstone, both on clarinet & bass clarinet--taking the title from Boethius' (427-524 AD) printed work on ancient Greek music: "De institutione musica", as they generate long-form drones using the harmonic interactions and interference patterns of similar tones, overtones, and difference tones; impressively intense.
Pitsiokos, Chris / CP Unit
Silver Bullet In The Autumn Of Your Years
(Clean Feed)
Pushing the envelope in genre-smashing collective improvisation, Brooklyn-based sax and synth player Chris Pitsiokos and his CP Unit with 2 electric bassists--Tim Dahl and Henry Fraser--2 drummers--Jason Nazary and Connor Baker--and guitarist Sam Lisabeth, take a twisted path through improv, rock, and electronics that always shows a fierce allegiance to free jazz.
Hocevar, Dre (Hocevar / Pluta / Tevis / Qu / Rasmussen / Corren / Clarke / St. Louis / Fraser)
Transcendental Within the Sphere of Indivisible Remainder
(Clean Feed)
An expansive album blending acoustic and electronic instruments in unique ways, creating a tapestry of sound as a framework for creative improvisation, composed by drummer Dre Hocevar & performed in an ensemble that includes some of New York's finest young improvisers.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Garcia, Miguel A. / Garazi Navas / Alex Reviriego / Vasco Trilla
Les Capelles
(Tripticks Tapes)
The first meeting of the quartet of electronic artist Miguel A. Garcia, accordionist Garazi Navas, double bassist Alex Reviriego and percussionist Vasco Trilla is this live performance at Convent de Sant Agusti, in Barcelona, using the natural resonance of the chapel to influence their introspective interactions of deep bass, evolving tones and mysterious percussive punctuations.
Spaces Unfolding (Metcalfe / Wachsmann / Karlsen)
The Way We Speak
(Bead)
All three having met in the London Improvisers Orchestra, Neil Metcalfe on flute and violinist Philipp Wachsmann each worked with drummer Emil Karlsen in separate projects including Tern, and then at Karlsen's suggestion creating this new Spaces Unfolding trio, heard in their first album, recording in the natural resonance of St. Mary's Old Church in Stoke Newington.
Charuest, Yves / Michel Ratte / Peter Kowald
Montreal, 1985 [VINYL]
(Tour de Bras / Ramble)
During a 1985 stay in Montreal, iconic German double bassist Peter Kowald asked alto saxophonist Yves Charuest to perform a series of duos with him, after which Charuest invited Michel Ratté to perform as a trio live at Le Bruit Court, recording in their studio these solid free jazz recordings that remained in storage for 37 years prior to this release!
Brulez les meubles (Beaudoin / Normand / Derome / Hollenbeck)
Tardif [VINYL]
(Tour de Bras / Ramble)
The Quebec project Brulez Les Meubles (Burn the Furniture) was conceived by long-time friends and contemporary jazz fans, bassist Eric Normand and guitarist Louis Beaudoin-de la Sablonniere, each collaboration inviting other musicians to join their warm & relaxed approach to modern jazz, here with Jean Derome on saxophone & flute and John Hollenbeck on drums.
Wachsmann, Philipp / Lawrence Casserley
Garuda
(Bead)
Both members of Evan Parker's Electro Acoustic-Ensemble and Colourscape, the ea-improv duo of Philipp Wachsmann on violin & viola and Lawrence Casserley using a signal processing instrument and percussion, are heard in these 2012 studio recordings in Buckinghamshire in 9 wide-ranging dialogs exploring permutations of playing, processing and transforming their instruments.
Tern (Philipp Wachsmann / Martin Hakett / Emil Karlsen)
In Air
(FMR/Bead)
Two sessions from the free improvising electroacoustic trio of Philipp Wachsmann on violin & electronics, Martin Hakett on synthesizer and Emil Karlsen on drums & percussion, first for three studio recordings in 2019, and then in concert at the 2020 "Sounds Like This" festival at Leeds College for two wonderfully idiosyncratic and masterful conversations.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC