Sean Noonan - A Gambler's Hand (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88.2 kHz | Time - 52:01 minutes | 1,01 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Digital Booklet
New York drummer Sean Noonan’s suite for amplified/unamplified string quartet and drum set combines the aesthetics of downtown jazz/rock and improv with composition inspired by American experimentalists such as Cowell, Nancarrow and Zorn. At any particular moment, rock grooves might be locking with insistent string ostinatos, which then morphs into spiky counterpoint reminiscent of Bartok. Delicate-harsh writing for the quartet is woven around Sean’s eclectic, lyrical drumming in a highly original fusion. The music also represents an original story by Noonan, an absurd, Beckett-influenced tale about an Irish gambler who one day finds himself immured inside a wall (excerpts of the story are included in the booklet, and a 30 minute silent film adaptation will be premiered later this year). Audiophile recording makes the most of the music’s varied textures and stark contrasts.