Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
After a year-long break, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have returned, and will release The Hidden Land (Columbia) on Jan. 31.
The stripped down album was recorded entirely at Fleck’s home in Nashville and he called its title a nod to music that exists for its own sake rather than transient or commercial instincts. “There is a hidden land out there, a territory where people push boundaries of music,” said Fleck. “In some ways we live under the radar, but at the same time we have had some amazingly large numbers of people interested in what we are doing, this album reflects that—it’s an uncompromising album. It’s serious Flecktones.”
Known for playing over 200 dates a year, the group began sessions for The Hidden Land with a statement of core principles. “We used to have a rule that everything we did had to be possible to do live with just the three of us, no additional parts laid down in the studio. We haven’t worked in that way since 1993, but it was the concept for these sessions,” said Fleck.
The songs on the album were written by the quartet with the exception of a cover of J.S. Bach’s “Bach Fugue.” Other notable highlights include “Kaleiloscope,” “P’lod,” “Who’s Got Three,” “Labyrinth” and “Chennai.”
Benjamin possessed a fluid, round sound on the alto saxophone, and he was often most recognizable by the layers of electronic effects that he put onto the instrument.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
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Henry Threadgill performs with Zooid at Big Ears in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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“I’m also at a point in my life where I don’t feel like I have anything to prove, like at all,” Akinmusire says about his art.
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