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Event
BlueStem Jazz featuring Quin Kirchner and Rob Clearfield
BlueStem Jazz presents
Chicago-based percussionist
Quin Kirchner and France-based pianist Rob Clearfield in an intimate setting.
The duo has recently announced the release of their first album "Concentric Orbits."
They have a long history of playing together over the years in Chicago.
You will likely remember Clearfield from his standout playing on Kirchner's
The Shadows and The Light (2020, Astral Spirits), and here on Concentric Orbits
he takes a bit more of the foreground on the piano with Kirchner's solid, driving support
moving the proceedings along.
The two sidelong tracks offer different sides of the duo; "Orbit 1" dives in with a
insistent and repetitive left piano groove that eventually unfolds into a splattering of
free improv that subsides. Cymbals, bells and more from Kirchner lead us through the
second half of the track, with Clearfield continuing variations on the original ostinato
through to the ending.
"Orbit 2" jumps out immediately with a percussive attack
complimented by Clearfield's prepared piano that mirrors the percussive sounds
without overpowering. Kirchner's groove rides powerfully through the majority of the
track, with some truly stirring playing from Clearfield on the second half.
It's worth noting that
Concentric Orbits
came out of the same sessions as Kirchner's
The Shadows and The Light
. Clearfield & Kirchner happened to find themselves at the
session earlier than the other musicians and decided to roll tape. The loose "let's see
what happens" vibe helps give focus to why
Concentric Orbits
is so beautiful and
important without being self-important. Even though it may not have seemed as
substantial as Kirchner's album at the time, it stands on equal footing as yet another
beautiful document of these players growth and maturity.
Rob Clearfield & Quin Kirchner -
Concentric Orbits
is out April 1, 2022 on vinyl LP in a
pressing of 600 copies (400 black & 200 three color swirl) & digital download.
Presented by BlueStem Jazz:
https://bluestemjazz.org/
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