Each of the 17 pieces are distinctive, interesting, and captivating in its own way.
Artist Share
Sara Caswell – Violin; Joyce Hammann – Violin; Lady Jess – Violin; Lois Martin – Viola; Orlando Wells – Viola; Jody Redhage-Ferber – Cello; Noah Hoffeld – Cello
GUESTS: Jay Anderson – Bass; Anat Cohen – Clarinet; John Hollenbeck – Drums, Marimba, Piano
COMPOSERS: Joseph Borsellino III (Paper Cranes); Bob Brookmeyer (Talking For String Trio); John Clayton (Tidal Wave); Alan Ferber (Violet Soul); Miho Hazama (Chipmunk Timmy’s Funny Sunny Day); John Hollenbeck (Grey Cottage String Quartets); Christine Jensen (Tilting World); Asuka Kakitani (Melt); Oded Lev-Ari (Playground for String Quartet); Jim McNeely )Murmuration and Adagio); Vanessa Perica (A World Lies Waiting); Rufus Reid (String Quartet #1); Dave Rivello (Two Reflections for String Quartet); Nathan Parker Smith (Where Can You Be?); Ryan Truesdell (Suite for Clarinet and String Quartet, Heart of Gold, and Dance de Quatro)
Award-winning producer Ryan Truesdell has dedicated the past three years meticulously crafting a new project, and it’s finally ready for the world to experience: SYNTHESIS: THE STRING QUARTET SESSIONS.
Ryan Truesdell, known for his work composing arranging, and producing for large jazz ensembles, faced a unique challenge when the pandemic made gathering 18 or more musicians in one room impossible. In the fall of 2021, he embarked on a novel idea: composing for a string quartet, instead of a big band. At first, the plan was for him and one other composer to take on the project, but he admits things got out of hand. SYNTHESIS features 17 pieces by 15 different composers.
The 3-CD set SYNTHESIS isn’t a jazz album. It’s a unique challenge where all 15 jazz composers were tasked with creating a classical string quartet for the very first time. Some of these composers have written for classical and classical-jazz blends, but the string quartet is a new experience. Each of the 17 pieces are distinctive, interesting, and captivating in its own way.
Miho Hazama, a Tokyo-born composer and jazz musician now based in New York City, shared that she had never seen squirrels or chipmunks until she moved to the United States. She still remembers how excited she felt when she saw wild chipmunks for the first time. “They have very rhythmical steps and sharp movements, that made me think of a basic groove for ‘Chipmunk Timmy’s Funny Sunny Day.’ Hazama used rhyme in the title to reflect the “rhyming” musical ideas within the piece, including motif repetitions and interval patterns, much like how rhyme works in poetry.
Japanese-born composer Asuka Kakitani draws inspiration from her love of nature and her programmatic pieces often reflect the natural world. Her composition ‘Melt ’was inspired by a photograph of a polar bear stranded on melting sea ice, prompting her to ask, “What have humans done to this world?” ‘Melt ’has elements of minimalism with its repeated two, three, and four note phrases but rather than focusing on just the subtle shifts in rhythm and harmony, it also has many gorgeous, expressive musical lines. The instruments ebb and flow in intensity, with the cello being aggressively bowed while the violins play pizzicato. I would have a hard time picking a favourite composition on SYNTHESIS, but I do love this piece.
Jim McNeely was fascinated by murmuration’s of starlings, those stunning displays where thousands of birds fly together in a coordinated, swirling mass. Do they do it for safety in numbers, to communicate about roosting spots or food, or maybe just because it looks cool. The quartet plays in a whole tone cluster, using notes that are a whole tone apart, unlike traditional chords that follow specific intervals like thirds or fifths. The second part of ‘Murmurations and Adagio ’culminates in a stunning improvised solo by violinist Sara Caswell.
Ryan Truesdell’s ‘Dança de Quarto’ has a lively Brazilian choro feel, with an off-beat pulse. Though intended as a solo piece for Sara Caswell, it became a balanced quartet where each musician shares melodic and harmonic duties, like four dancers trading roles on a stage.
Although this isn’t a jazz album, it features guest appearances by three jazz greats. John Hollenbeck adds drums, marimba, and piano to his own track “Grey Cottage,” Jay Anderson brings his bass to Ryan Truesdell’s “Heart of Gold (For Jody),” and Anat Cohen’s clarinet shines in Truesdell’s piece, “Suite for Clarinet and String Quartet.”
When the pandemic struck, Truesdell worried about the future of his art form. “The idea for SYNTHESIS emerged from recognizing that many jazz composers draw inspiration from the string quartet works of composers like Bartok, Brahms, and Ravel. It also stemmed from the need to find a safe yet creatively fulfilling way to make music together in person.”
