Big Heart Machine (Outside In Music)
Big Heart Machine
Released August 24, 2018
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ncNqbwyFTcQlGe1hspYDVPHiVpEsF6IG0
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/album/7f5FnY6u9Z1wi4rz53qJUe?si=fNiq7bpNRdadC8mYlqnwqQ
About:
Alto saxophonist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Brian Krock began his musical career at an early age. Before discovering his love of jazz music, he studied classical guitar and piano. His first attempts at composing were made in the 7th grade, when he recorded an entire album of original heavy-metal music on a digital recorder. He began seriously studying jazz music in high school, inspiring him to pursue a career dedicated to creating music.
A recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Composition from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, Brian was a student of world-renowned jazz composer Jim McNeely and classical composer Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh. His work as a composer and arranger has been lauded with numerous distinctions. Most recently, Brian was by Rufus Reid to compose a First Music Commission for the New York Youth Symphony. Brian will also be collaborating with the Metropole Orkest and Grammy-winning singer Lalah Hathaway in 2015. In 2012 he was awarded the Manhattan Prize in Composition for his String Quartet No. 1 (2010) as well as being awarded an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Award. As Composer-in-Residence at the Bloomingdale School of Music in 2014, he wrote a plethora of music which he plans to record in the coming year. Brian is also very active as a performer. His band, Life Size, kicked off 2014 with a tour of the Northeast in support of their debut record, Bright! He has also played with notable jazz artists such as Jamie Cullum, Jon Faddis, Matt Penman, David Liebman, Jim McNeely, and many more. As a woodwind doubler, Brian has toured the United States with Networks’ productions of Flashdance: The Musical and Dirty Dancing, as well as subbing on The Book of Mormon on Broadway- playing ten instruments, including oboe, recorders, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, and Bansuri. He looks forward to playing in two new productions this spring.
Track Listing:
1. Don’t Analyze (Brian Krock) 07:18
2. Tamalpais I-(Stratus) (Brian Krock) 03:45
3. Tamalpais II-Steep Ravine (Brian Krock) 08:53
4. Tamalpais III-Stinson Beach (Brian Krock) 07:39
5. Tamalpais IV-Dipsea Steps (Brian Krock) 08:02
6. Tamalpais V-(Cirrus) (Brian Krock) 04:48
7. Jelly Cat (Brian Krock) 09:04
8. Mighty Purty (Brian Krock) 10:30
Personnel:
Miho Hazama: conducter
Charlotte Greve: soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet, flute, sopranino recorder
Brian Krock: alto saxophone, clarinet, piccolo, flute, alto flute, soprano recorder
Timo Vollbrecht: tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet, soprano recorder
Paul Jones: tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto recorder
Jay Ratmann: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute, tenor recorder
John Lake: trumpet & flugelhorn
Nolan Tsang: trumpet & flugelhorn
Cody Rowlands: trumpet & flugelhorn
Kenny Warren: trumpet & flugelhorn
Nick Grinder: trombone
Chris Misch-Bloxdorf: trombone
Isaac Kaplan: trombone
Jennifer Wharton: bass trombone
Yuhan Su: vibraphone
ArcoIris Sandoval: piano & synthesizer
Olli Hirvonen: electric guitar
Marty Kenney: electric and upright bass
Josh Bailey: drums and percussion
With invaluable assistance from Peter Lenz, Adam Neely, and Molly McAdoo
Produced by Darcy James Argue
Recorded at by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn on August 15 & 16,
2017
Mixed by Brian Montgomery
Mastered by Sangwook “Sunny” Nam at Jacob’s Well Mastering
Review:
Prepare yourself for this amalgam of dynamic A-listers. Brian Krock long has departed from his heavy-shredding upbringing to recruit a who’s who of Brooklyn-centric stars, including the production whiz Darcy James Argue and m_unit’s Miho Hazama. The result? Big Heart Machine is cacophony of personality—a whirlwind journey that breathes modernity, adrenaline and sass into the traditional bigband model. With steampunk sensibility and an array of influences ranging from Money Jungle to Megadeth, Krock’s machine is anything but well-oiled—perhaps its most appealing trait. With equal parts desert sojourn and aggressive off-road traversing, the album tests the individual identities of its personnel across multiple landscapes. Of particular note is Krock’s stream-of-consciousness prog-rock deconstruction “Don’t Analyze,” anchored by Arcoiris Sandoval’s pulsating synth. The benchmark opus “Tamalpais”—a five-part allusive autobiographical nod to a trip down the California coast—segues from wide-open soundscapes (“Tamalpais I (Stratus)”) to angular guitar fugues (“Tamalpais III (Stinson Beach)”) to stirring, suspenseful resolution. Swinging re-interpretations of the bigband format (“Mighty Purty”) throw the oldschool chart out the window with hip, ironic flair. And when the ride is over, you’ll be wideeyed and eager for more.
Hilary Brown (DownBeat)
