Jacob Lindsay Jus CD

I'm proud to announce the release of the cd Jus on Balance Point Acoustics featuring a quartet with multi-clarinettist Jacob Lindsay, guitarist Ava Mendoza, contrabassist Damon Smith and myself on drums. The total running time is about an hour with six tracks that each take a distinctly different approach. I believe this is a significant recording for a number of personal reasons. For one, it is the first full-length document of my drumming where the focus is on orchestral playing instead of pure density and speed. The studio recording is warm and clear and packs a great, dynamic punch when listened to at a robust volume level. It's definitely something different for me and I find it as enjoyable to listen to as it was to make. Hopefully you will too.By and large Jus is about carefully chosen group textures, different levels of density and space and abstract approaches to polyphony. Each person approaches their instrument from the perspective of being sound generators, ranging from pure tones to totally distorted. A lot of the interplay works in terms of creating counterpoint - that is, the musicians are not interested in imitation, but rather exploring the possibilities how different each component can be in relation to each other at any given moment. This is a highly subjective and intuitive process which shifts rapidly and/or radically from second to second. There are a lot of surprises on here and no particular mode of playing or mood outstays its welcome. Just when you believe the group has settled on some low-level microscopic interplay, someone might appear out of nowhere and smash it apart with shocking violence, and so on. Of course, one or more of the remaining musicians may not even choose to react or change their course. This is what the music is about - very fleet but deliberate and controlled musical decision making. I believe that if you play this cd at a loud volume and give it your full attention you will enjoy the rapidly shifting, energized maze of interaction this group has to offer.In short I would compare the approach to some kind of halfway point between the early Music Improvisation Company recordings with Derek Bailey and early Schlippenbach Trio in terms of rhythmic abstraction and concentration on extended technique. Naturally, it doesn't sound particularly like neither group.