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Nate Wooley: Seven Storey Mountain VI

By Karl Ackermann
October 31, 2020
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From 2010 onwards, composer-trumpeter

Nate Wooley

trumpet
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Nate Wooley has explored creative music as a solo artist and through a spectrum of collaborators such as

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten

bass
b.1971

" data-original-title="" title="">Ingebrigt H?ker Flaten,

Mary Halvorson

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Mary Halvorson,

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark, and

" data-original-title="" title="">Matthew Shipp. These projects have been offset by Wooley's Seven Storey Mountain succession of releases; Seven Storey Mountain VI is a masterwork of expressionist passion and discord, taking the series to a new level.

The sound that Wooley debuted in 2009 was compact in scale, with drummer

Paul Lytton

drums
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Lytton, and

David Grubbs

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">David Grubbs playing the harmonium. Seven Storey Mountain's second release retained a trio formation but with drummer

Chris Corsano

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Corsano and violinist

C. Spencer Yeh

violin

" data-original-title="" title="">C. Spencer Yeh. Each successive release expanded the group size, building to orchestral proportions with Corsano and Yeh remaining on board throughout. A notable addition to the ensemble is pedal steel guitarist

Susan Alcorn

guitar, steel
1953 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Susan Alcorn whose wide-ranging talents have contributed to projects by

Ellery Eskelin

saxophone, tenor
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Ellery Eskelin,

Michael Formanek

bass, acoustic
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">Michael Formanek,

Joe McPhee

woodwinds
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe McPhee,

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark, and

Mary Halvorson

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Mary Halvorson, as well as her numerous leader releases.

The stunning opening minutes suggest the spiritual works of Estonian composer

Arvo Part

" data-original-title="" title="">Arvo Part, carried by the wordless vocals of Yoon Sun Choi, Mellissa Hughes, and

Megan Schubert

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Megan Schubert who leads a twenty-one-person choral group. Organ, piano and percussion join in before Alcorn's pedal steel guitar brings a disembodied, ethereal quality to the music. By the mid-point of this forty-five-minute piece, the music has turned into a gentle swirl of sounds, Wooley's amplified trumpet and tape loops,

Ava Mendoza

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Ava Mendoza's distant, crunchy electric guitar, a spoken-word reading in the background, and more. The calm dissipates, the churn becoming a tornado, throwing every sound at breakneck speed before setting down.

The final ten minutes of Seven Storey Mountain VI are ushered in by organ and the returning choir, spirituality colliding with the defiant poetry of Peggy Seeger's "Reclaim the Night." VI is a potion concocted with equal parts of anger and euphoria. It is commanding, distressing, but ultimately assenting, and the most powerful work of Nate Wooley's career.

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Track Listing

Seven Storey Mountain VI.

Personnel

Nate Wooley

trumpet

Samara Lubelski

violin

C. Spencer Yeh

violin

Chris Corsano

drums

Benjamin Hall

drums

Ryan Sawyer

drums

Susan Alcorn

guitar, steel

Julien Desprez

guitar

Ava Mendoza

guitar

Isabelle O'Connell

keyboards

Emily Manzo

keyboards

Yoon Sun Choi

vocals

Mellissa Hughes

vocals

Megan Schubert

vocals

Album information

Title: Seven Storey Mountain VI | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Pyroclastic Records

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Nate Wooley Concerts

Oct 11 Sat

Ingardens Festival

First Street Green Cultural Park
New York, NY

Oct 12 Sun

Ingardens Festival

First Street Green Cultural Park
New York, NY

Oct 13 Mon

Ingardens Festival

First Street Green Cultural Park
New York, NY

Nov 21 Fri

Jon Irabagon Quintet

Firehouse 12
New Haven, CT

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