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Patricia Brennan: Breaking Stretch

By Dan McClenaghan
September 7, 2024
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On her first two albums, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan worked with a quartet comprised of three percussion instruments, herself on vibes and marimba, joined by percussionist

Mauricio Herrera

percussion

" data-original-title="" title="">Mauricio Herrera and drummer

Marcus Gilmore

drums
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcus Gilmore, with a bassist

Kim Cass

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Kim Cass. Momentum in large part, is the name of the game. For Breaking Stretch she expands her musical universe, adding trumpeter

Adam O'Farrill

trumpet
b.1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Adam O'Farrill and saxophonists Mark Shim and

" data-original-title="" title="">Jon Irabagon. This proved a good move; her musical universe in this septet setting has an energy similar to the universe, a billion or so years after the Big Bang

Brennan's music flies all over the place, like bats bursting out of a cave at dusk. It is akin to

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman's, Free Jazz (Atlantic, 1960). But where Coleman's double quartet outing never gelled—gravity never asserting itself—in Brennan's free-flying, early universe the galaxies are spinning into existence, clouds of gas and dust are gathering to become gas giants and globes of rock locked into orbits around stars, capturing satellites of their own.

But it is not all balls to the wall. "Suenos de Coral Azul (Blue Coral Dreams)" is a lovely reverie, while "Palo de Oros (Suit of Coins)" whispers into existence, then breaks into the wild ride of a runaway train, upbound rather than downbound, clattering from out of the hole where Alice found Wonderland, bringing with it some of the subterranean craziness.

"Some of my favorite bands growing up were fiercely, rhythmically driven," Brennan says. These sounds influenced and shaped her vision accordingly. "Los Otros Yo (The Other Selves") is gloriously rhythmic, while the closer, "Earendel," has a cosmic, drifting aimlessly in outer space vibe, which brings up the "electronics" element that is found here. Trumpeter O'Farrill and Brennan add ghostly enhancements to lift the music a notch. Or two. Brennan's upping the ante with the addition of horns and the deft use of electronics says the future is certainly wide open for her.

Additionally, the album's cover art and the in-sleeve booklet are a perfect accompaniment to the music she makes—spiral galaxies, nebulae, bright orange lava and volcanic gasses rising into the sky can all be perused as a saxophone screams through the sky like a meteor.

Cosmic indeed.

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Track Listing

Los Otros Yo (The Other Selves); Breaking Stretch; 03 555; Palo de Oros (Suit of Coins); Suen?os de Coral Azul (Blue Coral Dreams); Five Suns; Mudanza (States of Change); Manufacturers Trust Company Building; Earendel.

Personnel

Patricia Brennan

vibraphone

Kim Cass

bass, acoustic

Marcus Gilmore

drums

Mauricio Herrera

percussion

Jon Irabagon

saxophone, tenor

Mark Shim

saxophone, tenor

Adam O'Farrill

trumpet

Additional Instrumentation

Jon Irabagon: alto sax, sopranino; Adam O'Farill: eelctronics.

Album information

Title: Breaking Stretch | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Pyroclastic Records

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Patricia Brennan Concerts

Sep 20 Sat

Mary Halvorson: Amaryllis

Solar Myth
Philadelphia, PA

Dec 11 Thu

Patricia Brennan Trio

Instituto Cervantes
New York, NY

Apr 21 Tue

Stephan Crump - Slow Water

Krannert Center For The Performing Arts
Urbana, IL

Apr 24 Fri

Stephan Crump - Slow Water

The Cleveland Museum Of Art
Cleveland, OH

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