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Herculaneum is Nick Broste (trombone), Greg Danek (bass),
David McDonnell (alto saxophone and clarinet), Patrick Newbery
(trumpet), and Dylan Ryan (drums and vibraphone), a conglomeration
of players who have collectively performed with a wide
variety of other Chicago-based jazz, improvised music and experimental
rock bands. The Chicago Reader’s Peter Margasak writes
that the band has “arrived at a surprisingly agile and elegant
sound,” adding “the musicians are equally inventive as writers,
arrangers and improvisers, and they make excellent use of
tight, varied horn charts to both propel and provide counterpoint
to whoever’s soloing.” Orange Blossom is the band’s second
recording.
Herculaneum’s Orange Blossom (482-1051) is the 12th title in
482 Music’s ongoing Document Chicago series, which has been
recording the latest generation of the city’s illustrious creative
music scene for the past four years. Founded in 2002, Herculaneum
mixes creative improvisation with diverse influences such as 20th
Century avant-garde composition and Romany Gypsy brass bands
to create a cohesive yet cosmopolitan new sound.
Orange Blossom, the group’s follow-up to its eponymous selfreleased
2004 debut, documents its expanding song structures,
instrumentation (special guests appear on two tracks) and breadth
of compositional strategies, which range from lush soundscapes to
duos and trios of Leone-like abstraction.
“The band’s trombone/trumpet/alto sax front line paints lush
chordal sketches reminiscent of classical composer Oliver
Messiaen and Miles Davis collaborator Gil Evans, while the pianoless
rhythm section provides roiling support worthy of John Zorn’s
Masada. Herculaneum doesn’t just coast on fluid soloing and
intuitive interplay—it’s got solid original material, expansively
arranged to sound bigger than a quintet. It’s refreshing to hear
younger players with the chops and discipline necessary to push
things forward while keeping an eye on the past, and Herculaneum
has the potential to grow into something quite special.”
—Ben Taylor, Time Out Chicago
“...Herculaneum sounds like a jazz-rock horn section that wandered
far off the pop music reservation. The ensemble play is agile, with
the horns executing tricky passages that veer from 20th century art
music to cartoon soundtracks; from bebop to the big top. Yet these
sharp stylistic turns never seem merely willful attempts to throw
the listener off-balance.”
—David DuPont, One Final Note
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