Composer/trombonist Nick DePinna presents Nexus Music (Vol. 2), a collection of pieces exploring the space between machine and dream. At once prescriptive and improvisational, meticulous and spontaneous, the album features four original compositions alongside an arrangement of Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way It Is” (not available on bandcamp).

Notes from the composer:

“Edotnel” is an exploration of distorted symmetry. The tightly controlled construction of the piece is camouflaged by unique and virtuosic improvisational solo performances by Julian Pollack, Sam Gendel, and Jake Reed.

“The Loom” features longtime friends and collaborators Ross Garren (chromatic harmonica), Adrianne Pope (violin), Linnea Powell (viola), and Hillary Smith (cello). I had originally meant for the piece to be a prelude to the next track on the album “Bloom,” however, not far into the composing process it became clear that it was a stand-alone sibling. “The Loom” derives much of its material inspiration from “Bloom,” but tells a different part of the same story. My heartfelt thanks to Ross Garren for sharing his incredible technical and historical knowledge of the harmonica. His extraordinary playing inspired a great deal of the music. “The Loom” is dedicated to Erika Oba and Sarah Thompson.

Originally commissioned by SFJAZZ for the 2019 SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, “Bloom” features the incredible Dayna Stephens on saxophone. When writing this piece, I initially aimed to depict various types of blooming resulting from the abundant rain California experienced at the time. While these simultaneous blooms would eventually go on to form a "superbloom,” the piece ended up being about my daughter, who has a character in the Japanese spelling of her name that translates to "blooming."

The final piece, “A Silent Ode,” is a collaborative composition by me and Ross Garren. It is a reflection (both literally and figuratively!) on “Edotnel.”

CREDITS

Featured musicians:

“Edotnel” - Julian "J3PO" Pollack (piano), Sam Gendel (alto saxophone), Jake Reed (drum set)
“The Loom” - Ross Garren (chromatic harmonica)
“Bloom” - Dayna Stephens (tenor saxophone)
”The Way It Is” - Chelsea Williams (vocals), Remy LeBoeuf (alto saxophone) [not available on bandcamp]
”A Silent Ode” - Ross Garren (piano)

Personnel (Alphabetical):

Cooper Appelt - Bass (3)
Will Baker - Bass Trombone (1, 3)
Charissa Barger - Harp (1)
Ken Belcher - Guitars (4)
Sean Billings - Trumpet (1*, 3*, 4)
Will Brahm - Guitar (3)
Brady Cohan - Guitars (1)
Jeff Cressman - Trombone (4)
Natalie Cressman - Trombone (1, 3, 4)
Nick DePinna - Trombone (1*, 3*, 4*), Keyboards (1), Guitar (3), Percussion (4)
Kait Dunton - Piano (3, 4)
Kirsten Edkins - Saxophone (1, 4)
Sean Franz - Baritone Saxophone (1, 3, 4), Bass Clarinet (1)
Derek Ganong - Trumpet (1*, 3*)
Ross Garren - Chromatic Harmonica (2), Vibraphone (3), Keyboards (4), Piano (5)
Sam Gendel - Alto Saxophone (1)
Juliane Gralle - Bass Trombone (4)
Lemar Guillary - Trombone (1, 3)
Dan Kaneyuki - Alto Saxophone (1*, 3*, 4*)
Barbara Laronga - Trumpet (3, 4)
Remy Le Boeuf - Alto Saxophone (3, 4)
Alberto Lopez - Percussion (1)
Erika Oba - Flute (1)
Hitomi Oba - Tenor Saxophone (1, 3, 4)
Julian Pollack - Piano and Keyboards (1)
Adrianne Pope - Violin (2)
Geoffrey Pope - Conductor (2)
Linnea Powell - Viola (2)
Jake Reed - Drum Set and Percussion (1, 3, 4)
Dan Rosenboom - Trumpet (1, 3, 4*)
John Schroeder - Guitars (4)
Benjamin Shepherd - Electric Bass (1, 4)
Hillary Smith - Cello (2)
Dayna Stephens - Tenor Saxophone (3)
Tom Terrell - Trumpet (1, 3, 4)
Chelsea Williams - Vocals (4)

* denotes principal

Production:

Nick DePinna - producer (all tracks)
Noah Meites - session producer (2)
Stuart Schenk - recording engineer (2)
Harriet Tam - recording engineer (5)
Brian Montgomery - mixing engineer (1, 3, 4)
Tyson Lozensky - mixing engineer (2, 5)
Dave Darlington - mastering engineer (all tracks)
Eron Rauch - digital cover artwork and design

“Edotnel,” “The Loom,” and “Bloom” composed by Nick DePinna (BMI)
“Bloom” commissioned by SFJAZZ for the 2019 SFJAZZ All Star High School All-Stars
“The Way It Is” composed by Bruce Hornsby (ASCAP), arranged by Nick DePinna, vocals arranged by Chelsea Williams
“A Silent Ode” composed by Nick DePinna and Ross Garren

Special thanks go out to the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, James W. Newton Jr., Jon Jang, David Norland, Robbie Hioki, Ross Garren, Chelsea Williams, Noah Meites, Dan Rosenboom, and Hitomi Oba.

©(P) Nick DePinna 2024
www.nickdepinna.com

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