Label: Pyroclastic Records, 2024
Personnel - Patricia Brennan; vibraphone with electronics, marimba; Jon Irabagon: alto and sopranino saxophones; Mark Shim: tenor saxophone; Adam O’Farrill: trumpet (with electronics on #1,3,9); Kim Cass: bass; Marcus Gilmore: drums; Mauricio Herrera: percussion.
This tour-de-force septet album from New York-based vibraphonist Patricia Brennan showcases her dedication and expansive approach to composition. Breaking Stretch is lushly conceived, with occasional cultural references to the Caribbean and Latin America, offering intriguing textures, varying pulses, cohesive ensemble passages, and probing improvisation. Brennan, whose mallet-induced vibes shimmer through each track, trusts an incisive three-horn frontline—trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Mark Shim—to join her More Touch Quartet, featuring bassist Kim Cass, drummer Marcus Gilmore, and percussionist Mauricio Herrera.
The soca music-inspired “Los Otros Yo” sets a colorful rhythmic matrix at the intersection of avant-garde jazz and calypso. A concise, to-the-point theme gives way to exuberant solos by Brennan and O’Farrill, who enhances his sound with electronic effects, and then a passage where Irabagon and Shim swap angular licks, their horns singing simultaneously in a thrilling display of vitality. The title cut, “Breaking Stretch”, opens with a triangular horn dialogue, its deep-rooted bass contributing to a juxtaposition of binary and ternary rhythmic feels. The resulting enigmatic atmosphere is reminiscent of Henry Threadgill’s sonic explorations, with Shim populating it with dark tones and fractal interpolation. Shim also takes center stage on “555”, a piece based on a rhythmic sequence of three beats divided by five. Cass provides a free funk substructure for the vibraphone solo, and Irabagon finishes the proceedings with a stratospheric display of tonal abundance. “Palo De Oros” stands out as a favorite, introduced by Cass with harmonics, vibratos, and impeccable articulations before unfolding into a 10-beat rhythmic cycle. The time signature shifts throughout a gripping arrangement that includes precise horn unisons, hooky solos, triumphant transitions, and frenetic drumming marking the final vamp.
“Sueños de Coral Azul” brings a breezier mood, serving as a nostalgic nod to Brennan’s Mexican hometown, Vera Cruz. Meanwhile, “Five Sun” blends Latin and funk elements in an infectious, electrified romp driven by a key-shifting bass figure and invigorated by accents and rhythmic stretches. The album closes with the dazzling, disorienting “Earendel”.
The musicians are at the top of their games, feeding off one another’s energy organically and navigating every compositional challenge without a glitch. Breaking Stretch is an impressive showcase of Brennan’s broad musical vision and stands as one of the year’s strongest jazz releases.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Los Otros Yo ► 04 - Palo de Oros ► 09 - Earendel