Andy McWain Quartet: Starfish
[Fuller Street Music 8854-2]
Andy McWain, acoustic piano
Assif Tsahar, tenor saxophone & bass clarinet
Noah Jarrett, acoustic bass
Chris Poudrier, drums & percussion
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"Can an avant jazz album be both challenging and memorably tuneful? Starfish suggests that it can." -Christian Carey, splendid e-zine.com
"Pianist Andy McWain leads his quartet thru ten pieces that offer an enlightening mix of modern jazz, interspersed with cunning dialogues and excursions into the free zone. Simply stated, the musicians' demonstrate a rather uncanny mechanism for blending the best of both worlds into a unique sound and style that hits home in a huge way. Thus, a major and altogether delightful surprise..." -Glenn Astarita, "New & Noteworthy" Column, allaboutjazz.com
Andy McWain is a versatile pianist who thrives in a variety of settings... His piano technique draws from a variety of modern stylists (Hancock, Evans, Taylor], yet unlike many current young pianists, he doesn't fall prey to mimicry, but actively seeks to make personal statements. Starfish is indeed a convincing debut with all four musicians interacting at a high level." -Jay Collins, Cadence Magazine (May 2003), New York, USA
"Andy McWain's piano work can be delicate and feather light, then seismically percussive, sometimes in the same song... The impression that won't let go after multiple listenings is Classical music, modern mode; chamber sounds, with jazz teeth... McWain and crew are a phenomenon, a very exciting discovery." -Dan McClenaghan, allaboutjazz.com
"If you're into atonal jazz, but your friends aren't, this just might be the CD to convert them. McWain's compositions are accessible in the way that early atonalist Alban Berg's "Violin Concerto" is: the atonality is only a means of expressing a lyrical theme..." -Matt Rand, Squid's Ear , NYC
"Released early this year, Starfish is a strong candidate for the list of 2003's best albums." -Vangelis Aragiannis, Ipirotikos Agon, Syros Island, GREECE
"In the centre of it all is Andy McWain's delicate acoustic piano work....a highly percussive and persuasive style. Starfish is an album that works on multiple levels.... technically high skilled musicianship and interaction. "
-Roger Teeling, Vital Weekly, no. 387, Nijmegen, The NETHERLANDS
"McWain applies a '60s-bop piano sound to a fairly free-form setting. Dark, lush sound well informed by the jazz tradition, and some nice burning solos from Assif Tsahar on sax. Great stuff -- every track's good. [Track 1] Free-form jazz intro, great lush bop piano solo in the last few minutes..." -Craig Matsumoto, Jazz Director, KZSU 90.1 FM, Stanford, CA, USA
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RECENT AIRPLAY
* WFMU 91.1 FM, Jersey City, NJ (relay WHXD 90.1 FM, Hudson Valley); "Stochastic Hit Parade"; Bethany Ryker, host
* WPKN 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT; "Radio Nothing"; Rod Richardson, host
* KFOX 93.5 FM, Redondo Beach, CA; "Jazzweekly.com"; Fred Jung, music director
* CKUT 90.3 FM, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA
* KGNU 88.5 FM, Boulder, CO; (with 93.7 FM, Ward, CO; 89.1 FM, Ft. Collins, CO); "Jazz & Beyond"; Karl Eggert, Glenn Arndt, Russell Bertolette, hosts
* WSMU 91.1 FM, North Dartmouth, MA; "Music for Sunday"; Ron Teachman, host
* WERU 89.9 FM, Blue Hill, ME; 102.9 FM Bangor, ME; "The New School"; Wade Kohlchek, host
* AAJ-Internet Radio - jazzexcursion.com, "Jazz Excursion"; John Sutton, host
* WCBN FM, Ann Arbor, MI, Joslyn Lane, jazz music director
* WREK 91.1 FM, Atlanta, GA
* CFUV 101.9 FM, Victoria, BC, CANADA
* KZSU 90.1 FM, Stanford, CA; "Umami Jazz Program"; Ben, host; "Memory Select"; Wade, host [Jazz Top 30, Mar-Apr 2003]
* KOSMOS 90 FM, Hermoupolis, Syros Island, GREECE; "Jazz on 90FM"; Vangelis Aragiannis, producer
* WNUR 89.3 FM, Evanston,IL "Chicago's Jazz Experiment", (Jazz Top 50, Feb 2003)
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