What proved special about the jazz, and other music scenes (bluegrass; rock, country, et al) to come out of Charlottesville between—let’s say—the mid-1980s through early aughts—is that the historical college-town proved to be populated by a diverse, and talented enough demos, that the roster of jazz and fusion musicians, (student and professional alike) who hailed from that southeastern melting-pot, all bore a fusion of European; African, and Appalachian ethnomusical bents.
What I like about the act I am now introducing is not only does eponymous bandleader, Erin Connelly alone; but also the other four musicians of the nascent quartet’s personnel on their new jazz release: Fruitful, happen to emerge from the fresh and unpredictable geography of the Baltimore (and D.C.)-metro-area. And I also could detect the EuroAfrican influence when listening to the new LP by Connelly and her quartet. On the one hand: if one must identify precedents of inspiration, I think I heard the stylistic-stamp of Arnold Schoenberg’s avant-garde modernist compositions; whilst, on the other: Ornette Coleman’s pioneering and objectifying 1959 LP, The Shape of Jazz To Come (Atlantic, ‘59).
Above, to get things warmed-up, I’ve posted a truncated excerpt of the Erin Connelly Quartet: (Erin Connelly on trumpet; Derrick Michaels on saxophone; Zach Swanson on bass, and Tony Martucci on drums). In the clip the quartet perform live, almost exactly one-year-ago, on March 13, 2022; and incidentally, the footage streaming courtesy of YouTube and Erin Connelly, was “captured on the same day the group tracked their debut recording.”
Still forthcoming—(but not for long)—self-produced three-track packed LP, entitled: Fruitful: debut recording from the Erin Connelly Quartet consisting of three instrumental tracks begins with a mostly-improvised composition called: ‘Apricity’. ‘Apricity’ gets going as an atonal and rubato duet; until slightly-past 1:00-into the track, from whence the sly and nuanced, well-listening drums come in: like snapping twigs gracefully, (and eventually the double-bass).
Bandleader, Connelly, studied undergrad at Towson University in Maryland. Recorded “live in one room”, the three-song feature LP, Fruitful, is set for release in the electronic public-domain, with special-order options for other media on March 4, 2023.
Furthermore, ‘Apricity’ is a mainly dissonant piece featuring a two-part harmony which lasts just over 10-minutes of playtime duration. There are also moments of improvised counterpoint between Derrick Michaels’ tenor saxophone, and the trumpet of bandleader, Erin Connelly, (if not written into the chart or premeditated somehow, than clearly both the aleatory gracenotes, and saxophonistic statements—as well as the unique sonic-nuances of the trumpet—are indeed contrapuntal…); supple melodic brushstrokes of musical melody, screaming the esthetic-contrast between: [a]: two-part diminished harmonies, and [b]: the surreal effect of discordant single-note melodies, passionately executed by a two-horn duet.
The challenging, if not disturbed music between the two horn-players may as well be taken as—(if not an homage)—an allusion to a prior project Connelly worked on with Derrick Michaels, (some may have by now heard-of: Yellow Dwelling, out of the Baltimore-area; which bonded a connection for these co-ed [not-]NYC avant-garde musicians; replete with a distinct free-jazzin’ brass-duet sonic-style).
Some count of between 50-seconds and one full minute on the trackcounter consisting—and…an unknown count of measures—of solo upright bass pluckage opens the following, and penultimate track of the trilogy of avant-garde content on [the] Erin Connelly Quartet’s self-produced debut: Fruitful (2023), simply entitled, ‘Lone’.
…and from whence said centrifugal and atonal vamp begins, it is more of a dosy-doe ‘tween bass and drums; with the funky gait of upright bassist, Zachary Swanson, spinning ‘gainst Tony Martucci on the drumkit; drawing heat on consideration of the bassline, splashing in an oddly time on the ride-cymbal, like the soap-sopping tentacles of an indoor carwash.
Meanwhile, Erin Connelly Quartet’s Fruitful LP, finishes with the tertiary and ultimate track, called, ‘Nutriment’: a 25-minute and 56-second track of extended and old-school: ‘free-jazz’—and in consideration of their (relative-to-the-‘free-jazz’ sound)-vernal generation, (decidedly old-school; which…however doesn’t quite speak for Fruitful’s remaining sonic-spacescape). The track begins with an unaccompanied drum solo for slightly over 60-seconds, à la Tony Martucci; and is sonic peaches and cream for the rest of the track’s quality duration; (but for the daring expectant of a decidedly avant-garde production).
The record-engineering is crystal clear, picking up all the dynamics and subtle nuances of the quartet’s classic straight-ahead acoustic instrumentation. This track features a shallow-sonic depth, and a deep reverb echo; though without such a natural-echo’s organic aspect of sustain.
I’d indeed recommend—should you want esthetic-reward guaranteed—your affordable investment in the Erin Connelly Quartet’s self-produced debut studio LP, Fruitful; available for purchase Saturday March 4, 2023. And all the more so if you are piqued by the avant-garde music scene; classic acoustic, atonal ‘free-jazz’; and would like to check out a fresh and unique jazz effort from a lesser sung scene than Boston’s Back Bay, or the five burrows.