Mike McGinnis – Singular Awakening (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Mike McGinnis – Singular Awakening (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 49:51 minutes | 893 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sunnyside

Rising-star clarinetist/saxophonist/composer Mike McGinnis couldn’t have had better associates to develop his musicality than pianist Art Lande and electric bassist Steve Swallow, whose experience and distinct styles provide an elegant carpet for his strides. “Singular Awakening” is the natural follow-up to last year’s “Recurring Dream”. The album comprises twelve tracks, eight of them being improvised numbers, while the bassist and the pianist contribute with two compositions each.

The recording begins with a couple of composed pieces from Swallow and Lande to get the program off and running. Swallow’s “Here Comes Everybody” is a compact, jazzy piece that is fun and challenging to play, while Lande’s “Shining Lights” is a ruminating, folk-like piece that moves through sections and is dedicated to his students. The eight improvisations each have their own personality and style, showing the vastness of the collective’s comfort level regardless of genre or character. “Insist on Something Sometimes” is a laid back piano led dialog. The quietly introspective “A First Memory” shows incredible restraint, while the slightly more insistent “Mini’s Can-Do Club” highlights a special low-key swagger. “PolterGinnis” has the trio at their most esoteric and captivating. “O’Flaherty Decides to Play Jazz” has a slightly Celtic clarion clarinet and a winding rhythm section. Led by a pressing bass line, clarinet and piano weave around each other on the bluesy “Beau Nivea.” The appropriately named “Shockinawe” showcases the far ranges of McGinnis’s soprano saxophone and a pointillistic development. The singing tones of Swallow’s bass and floating piano are dramatic in their simplicity on “Slow Dance in a Whisper.” The program concludes with two more composed pieces. Lande’s lovely “For Elise” is an elegy to a friend’s stillborn baby, which is composed of three counterpoint parts working off each other until they extinguish. Throwing down the gauntlet, Swallow’s tricky “Bite Your Grandmother” closes with a bang. Mike McGinnis knew that he was putting something special together when he convened this trio with Art Lande and Steve Swallow. On their Singular Awakening, the trio shows their incredible capacity for fascinating, conversational group improvisation.

Tracklist:
01. Mike McGinnis – Here Comes Everybody (05:05)
02. Mike McGinnis – Shining Lights (05:22)
03. Mike McGinnis – Insist on Something Sometimes (03:32)
04. Mike McGinnis – A First Memory (04:11)
05. Mike McGinnis – Mini’s Can-Do Club (05:10)
06. Mike McGinnis – PolterGinnis (04:02)
07. Mike McGinnis – O’Flaherty Decides to Play Jazz (03:54)
08. Mike McGinnis – Beau Nivea (03:16)
09. Mike McGinnis – Shockinawe (01:55)
10. Mike McGinnis – Slow Dance in a Whisper (03:57)
11. Mike McGinnis – For Elise (03:48)
12. Mike McGinnis – Bite Your Grandmother (05:32)

Personnel:
Mike McGinnis – clarinet & soprano sax
Art Lande – piano
Steve Swallow – bass guitar

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