Label: Self released, 2024
Personnel - Nicole Connelly: trombone; Zachary Swanson: bass; Kate Gentile: drums; Erin Connelly: trumpet (#3,5,9,10,12); Andrew Hadro: baritone saxophone (#7).
Stamp in Time, the promising first album by Brooklyn-based trombonist Nicole Connelly, is poised to earn her respect as a leader. Embracing the avant-garde and experimental territories on the left side of the jazz spectrum, Connelly engages in emphatic collaborative interaction with her band mates: fearless bassist Zachary Swanson and exceptional drummer Kate Gentile, and enriches half of the 12 tracks with guest appearances by her twin sister, trumpeter Erin Connelly and baritone saxophonist Andrew Hadro.
The album kicks off with the title cut, a somewhat reflective original composition that teases the listener with long multiphonics and a fine tonal contrast between Swanson’s dramatic bowed bass and Gentile’s sparkling cymbal work. The Roswell Rudd-penned “Bamako” brings West African flavors through a joyful groove that makes it danceable plus a melody that sticks to your head.
“Shadow Self”, one of the four pieces improvised live in the studio, features trumpet and trombone in tandem over loose bass and pronounced hi-hat, showcasing a simplicity that makes it demanding. “Malaton”, delivered in five, boasts a special vibrancy drawn from both the avant-garde and rock realms. The central riff here is as captivating as that in “Day By Day”, which expands into a candidly improvised brass discourse followed by crisp drum chops.
Bebop singer/poet Babs Gonzales’ “Lullaby of the Doomed” is shaped as a mournful procession with warped trombone multiphonics giving it a droning edge, while “Sky Piece”, a composition by the late saxophonist Thomas Chapin, offers an astonishing set of pitches that resonate powerfully with Hadro’s exuberant playing. His deep baritone shouts, later turning into murmuring trills, are initially underpinned by a bass pedal that disentangles into a three-time-feel motion. All that momentarily stops for a solitary trombone statement.
Draped in tension and release fabrics, Stamp in Time sees the musicians interlocking their sounds while exploring a mix of sharp and round jazz corners that are meaningful to Connelly, marking her as an artist to keep an eye on.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Stamp in Time ► 02 - Bamako ► 07 - Sky Piece