Renowned far and wide not only as a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist but as a composer-improviser of visionary gifts, Tyshawn Sorey presents his most ambitious recorded project to date with Pillars, a three-CD/two-LP epic that deals in ritual, drone and volatile atmosphere. Pillars is a triptych of seamless composition and improvisation, performed by a top-flight electro-acoustic octet featuring Sorey (conductor, drum set, percussion, trombone, dungchen) alongside Stephen Haynes (trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet, alto horn, small percussion), Ben Gerstein (trombone, melodica), Todd Neufeld (electric and acoustic guitars), Joe Morris (electric guitar, double-bass), Carl Testa (double-bass, electronics), Mark Helias (double-bass) and Zach Rowden (double-bass).
The multivalent sound world of Pillars is beyond category, as inspired by Tibetan ceremonial music as by the extended avant-jazz rituals of Roscoe Mitchell; the African-American experimentalism of Bill Dixon, Butch Morris and Anthony Braxton have also been a keen influence on Sorey, as have been the disparate, trans-Atlantic modernisms of Morton Feldman and Karlheinz Stockhausen. As The New Yorker recently noted, Sorey is “among the most formidable denizens of the in-between zone… An extraordinary talent who can see across the entire musical landscape.” Pillars will be released in full-length triple-CD and digital download versions, as well as in a different, re-edited edition for vinyl double-LP (titled Pillars IV).
Stephen Haynes: trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet, alto horn, small percussion
Ben Gerstein: trombone, melodica
Todd Neufeld: electric and acoustic guitar
Joe Morris: electric guitar, double bass
Carl Testa: double bass, electronics
Mark Helias: double bass
Zach Rowden: double bass
Tyshawn Sorey: conductor, drum set, dungchen, percussion, trombone
1. Pillars I 01:17:15
2. Pillars II 01:15:02
3. Pillars III 01:18:02
Recorded by Greg DiCrosta on July 30 and 31, 2017
Edited, Mixed & Mastered by Nick Lloyd
Graphic Design by Megan Craig
Produced by Tyshawn Sorey
Co-produced by Nick Lloyd
