Horvitz’s writing for the groups Schoenbeck has graced has made great use of her sound, and that has enhanced their success. Conveying nuanced emotions, often blisteringly beautiful, even when mournful, his Way Out East for the Gravitas Quartet is a case in point.
Peter Monaghan, Earshot Jazz
Bassonist Sara Schoenbeck And Pianist Wayne Horvitz Will Release 'Cell Walk' On May 22

Wayne Horvitz
keyboardsb.1955
A video for the album's first single, No Blood Relation," was released on April 24.
As Wayne relates, “We actually recorded an improvised duo on the first Gravitas CD in 2005, which was prescient. Sara has been a guest on a lot of gigs with other bands of mine (especially Sweeter Than the Day) and we have often set aside a duo in a set. She has also performed as an improvising soloist in a number of my classical pieces, including a piece for orchestra and my string quartet ‘These Hills of Glory.’ Most recently Sara has joined the Snowghost Trio on quite a few shows. A lot of different music!” Sara elaborates: “Wayne’s Gravitas Quartet involving

Ron Miles
cornet1963 - 2022
There is something unexpected and quite special in how beautifully the two instruments blend (mostly acoustically, at other times involving electronics on the piano). As Peter Monaghan points out, “As a double-reed contraption…it’s notoriously difficult to master, let alone import to jazz contexts.” Schoenbeck has received praise for her accomplishments in contemporary music of varied styles, notably in the ensembles SEM, Tri-Centric Orchestra, Wet Ink and Wavefield—the New York Times has called her performances “galvanizing” and “riveting mixing textural experiments with a big, confident sound.” She has also developed a sonic and expressive synergy embracing composed jazz and free improvisation, having frequently worked with artists such as

Anthony Braxton
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Roscoe Mitchell
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Michael Leonhart
trumpetb.1974

Nels Cline
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Horvitz’s instrument for the main session at Pyatt Hall in Vancouver is a “very beautiful and beautifully maintained Steinway D…I felt strongly that we should record in a hall, because I felt that our best gigs had been in halls. It’s harder in some ways and there is less control; the stereo mics are the main mics so there isn’t much mixing to be done past a certain point, so the ensemble playing has to be right in the recording…there are some close mics which we used in the mix when we could.”
A studio session in Brooklyn six months later added six pieces involving electronics: “We both felt that some more open playing was missing, and also the sonic elements we can explore when I incorporate the electronics. (My pedal setup is pretty basic: a tremolo, an 8 second delay, a simple delay and a reverb pedal.)” Sara: “It is easy to fall into musical patterns when improvising. The electronics, even if they are subtle, shake us into a different sonic space which is decidedly refreshing.”
The Brooklyn session includes the title track, which was composed shortly after

Cecil Taylor
piano1929 - 2018
You can read an interview with Sara and Wayne here.
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Track Listing
Undecided; Twining; No Blood Relation; Long Wing; 3 Places in Southern California; The Fifth Day; Deep Well Well; Tin Palace; Cell Walk; Sutter St.; Laughter; For Lou Harrison; Sleeper Ship; Ironbound; Marcuselle; We Will Be Silk; American Bandstand.
Personnel
Sara Schoenbeck
bassoonWayne Horvitz
keyboardsAlbum information
Title: Cell Walk | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Songlines Recordings