By Bob Protzman | Published January 2017
Ah, freedom—the opportunity to do something your way, and then enjoy the bonus of sharing your venture with anyone interested. That’s the story of Earprint, a quartet of young men not long out of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The group is Tree Palmedo on trumpet, Kevin Sun on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Simón Wilson on bass and Dor Herskovits on drums. (A quick comment on Herskovits—you’d better like drums, because he’ll put lots of prints on your ears.)
The group opens with “Nonsense,” a minute and a half of pure bopishness. “Happy” follows with strong gusts of originality, featuring a high-pitched Sun on tenor, just one example of his wide-ranging tonality. “School Days” is a backbeat ballad that becomes a bit dreary until a fierce trumpet solo and bombastic drum turn wrap it up.
Sun’s “Malingerer,” inventive and dramatic, stands apart because it seems through-composed and shows off individual and band strengths. Not far behind is Herskovits’ “Clock Gears.” It’s full of surprises—you don’t know who among the four will play as each makes subtle changes to the tune. If they stay together and keep working hard, there’s no telling how good Earprint will become.
Earprint: Nonsense; Happy, School Days, Boardman, The Holy Quiet, Golden Girder; Strikes Again; Malingerer; Clock Gears; Anthem; Colonel; Six Nine.
Personnel: Tree Palmedo, trumpet; Kevin Sun, saxophones; Simón Wilson, bass; Dor Herskovits, drums.
