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Jacob Garchik

acob Garchik, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger, was born in San Francisco and has lived in New York since 1994. At home in a wide variety of styles and musical roles, he has become a vital part of NYC’s downtown and Brooklyn scene, playing trombone with the Lee Konitz Nonet, Ohad Talmor/Steve Swallow Sextet, The Four Bags, Slavic Soul Party, and the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble. In 2012 he released the acclaimed solo CD “The Heavens: the Atheist Gospel Trombone Album”.

Since 2006 Jacob has contributed dozens of arrangements and transcriptions for the Kronos Quartet of music from all over the world. His arrangements were featured on “Floodplain” (2009) and “Rainbow” (2010). He composed the score for Kronos for the documentary film “The Campaign” (2013) about the fight for marriage equality in California, which aired on PBS and at the frameline37 film festival in San Francisco. Complete list of arrangements for Kronos

As a trombonist Jacob has worked with many of the luminaries of the avant-garde, including Henry Threadgill, Laurie Anderson, Anthony Braxton, Anthony Coleman, Joe Maneri, Frank London, James Tenney, Josh Roseman, Don Byron, Terry Reilly, George Lewis, and Billy Martin. He has also played in ensembles led by rising artists such as Mary Halvorson, Dan Weiss, Miguel Zenon, and Steve Lehman. In 2013 he was named a “Rising Star” in the Downbeat Magazine Jazz Critic’s Poll.

Jacob also plays accordion, bass trombone, tuba, computer, and piano.

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Album Review

Stephan Crump: Slow Water

Read "Slow Water" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Bassist-composer Stephan Crump's sonic odyssey Slow Water is a profound exploration of the essence and myriad forms of water. It goes beyond merely depicting its physical flow; rather, it delves into the symbolic and existential significances that water holds. This project emerges as a creative masterwork, reflecting Crump's deep contemplation of humanity's intricate relationship with this elemental force. Inspired by a lifetime of individual experiences and societal observations, Crump crafts an album that is both thought-provoking and sonically captivating.

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Album Review

Mary Halvorson: Cloudward

Read "Cloudward" reviewed by Doug Collette


The title of guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson's Cloudward alludes to the sense of optimism she has stated she felt when writing the bulk of the material in fall of 2022. And while this palpable sense of faith in the future is in marked contrast to the tangible air of eerie foreboding that surfaced so often on this LP's predecessors, the presence of largely the same personnel lineup--the Amaryllis Sextet-- provides a stable link of continuity. The reappearance of prior collaborators recording ...

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Album Review

Mary Halvorson: Cloudward

Read "Cloudward" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Guitarist, composer & raconteur Mary Halvorson could very comfortably (and rightfully) wear the sobriquet of “The Charles Mingus of Guitar" if she wanted to. But even that open-ended comparison would limit her as she outdoes herself again on Cloudward. Though it must surely be getting harder to top herself given the string of releases--the deliberately articulate schizophrenia Amaryllis and Belladonna (Nonesuch, 2022), the unbridled trio synergy Multicolored Midnight (Cunneiform, 2018), the crackling mad invention propelling 2018's Code Girl (Firehouse 12 ...

Album Review

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Dynamic Maximum Tension

Read "Dynamic Maximum Tension" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Precursore nel 2009 (con l'innovativo Infernal Machines) del nuovo rinascimento orchestrale nel jazz, Darcy James Argue approda all'etichetta Nonesuch e pubblica il nuovo album in studio: un doppio CD realizzato con i consueti partner della Secret Society più l'aggiunta della cantante Cecile McLorin Salvant e della violinista Sara Caswell. A differenza degli ultimi due dischi, Dynamic Maximum Tension non è un'opera multimediale ma conserva la spinta visionaria animata dalla costante riflessione socio-politica. Spinta che si traduce in ...

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Album Review

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Dynamic Maximum Tension

Read "Dynamic Maximum Tension" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright


Darcy James Argue's superb double-album Nonesuch debut offers compositions written throughout his career. He turns to twentieth-century thinkers for “ideas that can help us in the present, that we can reexamine and reconfigure for our own purposes." These include futurist designer Buckminster Fuller, cryptanalyst-computer scientist Alan Turing, composer-arranger Bob Brookmeyer, actress-screenwriter Mae West, trumpeter-mentor Laurie Frink, and musician-beyond-category Duke Ellington, among others. Like West, Argue seems to control his own path. He may not yet be the tycoon she was, ...

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Album Review

Jacob Garchik: Assembly

Read "Assembly" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Trombonist and composer Jacob Garchik is versatile and restlessly inventive. His past work has ranged from a brass-only orchestra to a guitar-heavy ensemble as well as a unique take on gospel music. His sixth release, the provocative Assembly, evokes film soundtracks with a touch of fantasy. The nine originals make a cohesive whole with a creative momentum which does not slack. The opening track “Collage" has two distinct layers; in the background Garchik and soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome ...

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Album Review

Jacob Garchik: Assembly

Read "Assembly" reviewed by John Chacona


Trombonist Jacob Garchik has an interest in musical subtraction. His 2012 release The Heavens: The Atheist Gospel Trombone Album (Yestereve Records) presented religious music stripped of religion. Clear Line (Yestereve Records) from 2020 featured a 13-piece big band with no rhythm section. Now comes Assembly, an inquiry into what a jazz quintet sounds like when added to itself. Garchik declares both method and intent in his song titles; the first three cuts are “Collage," “Pastiche" and “Bricolage." The ...

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Recording

Abstracts, a new CD by Jacob Garchik

Abstracts, a new CD by Jacob Garchik

Source: All About Jazz

Announcing Abstracts, a new album on Yestereve Records by trombonist and composer Jacob Garchik. He is a member of the critically acclaimed Lee Konitz New Nonet, which recently recorded live at the Jazz Standard. He also plays with the Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor sextet, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, Frank London's Klezmer Brass All-Stars, Slavic Soul Party, and many others. He is as comfortable and experienced playing duets with Lee Konitz as he is freely improvising with Joe Maneri, working with ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Cloudward

Self Produced
2024

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Cloudward

Nonesuch Records
2024

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Slow Water

Papillon Sounds
2024

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Dynamic Maximum...

Nonesuch Records
2023

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Assembly

Yestereve Records
2022

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Idiom

Pi Recordings
2021

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Eager

From: Slow Water
By Jacob Garchik

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