Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges

Michigan born maestro Colin Stetson is highly regarded as a bass saxophone player, but not satisfied with mastery of a single instrument, this multi-talented musician plays clarinet, bass clarinet, French horn, flute, and cornet. The intensity associated with the live performances of his compositions are said to leave audiences in a state astonishment and awe.

Renowned for production of a continuous tone without interruption, accomplished by breathing in through the nose while simultaneously blowing out through the mouth using air stored in the cheeks, Stetson seems to actually become the instrument, with a dedication to forge a Zen like concept of ‘mind-body’ – developing the intuitive, spiritual side of the performer as much as the musicianship itself.

New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges is his second solo album; recorded in a single take, at times it seems to use almost every instrument and every style you could think of and some of which you could never hope to decipher.  But this is no aimless drift across the genres.  This recording sees the musicians, engineers and arrangers performing at the top of their game to produce an album that will upset and anger the purists and defy any would be pigeon-holers.

A renaissance blend of jazz, classical, electronica, minimalism, blues and then some, this recording delivers an experience of emotional breadth where the listener’s soul is edified with a deep and mysterious energy. This is a powerful alchemy that utilises romantic, gothic, and occult ideas to describe and transform the lives of both performers and audience.

This album bursts with a musicality that excites rewards and entertains in different ways every time it is listened to. Take an intense and spiritual journey to the core of your own humanity with an innovative, experimental and charged reality that carries a solemn and weighty responsibility.

- Review by Dean Rocker for Fluid Radio

www.cstrecords.com
www.colinstetson.com