RECORDINGS Taking The Reins Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II Silenced One drummer’s unique and bold statement on topical events. On Silenced, accomplished drummer/composer Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie II and
an impressive cast of collaborators (including Nels Cline) navigate a series of chaotic improvisations to call awareness to the trend of unarmed citizens killed by police. The resulting listening experience is appropriately disquieting, with many tracks resisting conventional song structures. Within this framework, McKenzie picks ideal moments to pierce the chaos with oppressive industrial grooves and frantic jazz accents, careening off his collaborators’ noisy accompaniment to propulsive effect. In fact, one of Silenced’s accomplishments is that even in its most transgressive or mournful improvisations, it never loses a sense of momentum, keeping listeners confident that each sonic simulation of tragedy has been crafted with narrative intention. (577 Records) Keaton Lamle (Amazon)     Dan Weiss Starebaby
 Noah Preminger Genuinity Drummer DAN WEISS […]

February 2019 Issue