On Figurants, bassist/composer Brad Cheeseman brings his emphasis on musical storytelling full circle with his most ambitious work yet: a series of compositions based on David Foster Wallace's landmark novel Infinite Jest.
At times reminiscent of artists like the Bad Plus or the Brian Blade Fellowship, Figurants explores various characters, chapters and themes from Wallace's novel, using varying instrumentation and moods to set each scene. Whether it's the urgent quartet performance on "Year of Glad" or the elegant complexity of "Scaling Mt. Dilaudid," Figurants looks at both the themes and world of Infinite Jest while recognizing their parallels in the world around us.
"Figurants, the wraith says they're called, these surreally mute background presences whose presence really revealed that the camera, like any eye, has a perceptual corner, a triage of who's important enough to be seen and heard v. just seen." - IJ, pg.835
The EP was released on the 20th anniversary of the novel's publication, with selections from Figurants premiered by Spectrum Music Canada. The EP was nominated for "Best Jazz Instrumental" at the 2016 Toronto Independent Music Awards.
credits
released February 1, 2016
Brad Cheeseman - electric bass
Lorenzo Castelli - drums
Kevin Stolz - piano
Colleen Allen - alto sax & soprano sax
Jeff LaRochelle - tenor sax & bass clarinet
Aidan Sibley - trombone
All compositions by Brad Cheeseman (SOCAN)
Recorded December 6, 2015
Engineered by Ian Bodzasi at Chalet Studios
Additional recording by Steven MacKinnon
Mastered by Reuben Ghose at Mojito Mastering
Artwork by Chris Ayers (chrisayerscreative.com)
www.bradcheeseman.com
This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters. Ce projet est financé en partie par FACTOR, le gouvernement du Canada et les radiodiffuseurs privés du Canada.
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