The Spoon

released June 15, 2015

Ethan Helm, saxophones
Noah Berman, guitar
Adam Kromelow, piano
Nathan Ellman-Bell, drums

Sam Minaie, mixing and mastering

Family Cow Recordings

Noah Berman (guitar), Adam Kromelow (piano), and Nathan-Ellman Bell (drums) join in creating this album of jazz compositions and free improvisation. Each offer their unique and charismatic voices to a constantly-morphing ensemble sound that explores texture, rhythm, and harmony on the fringes of the jazz tradition. Sam Minaie’s mixing and mastering is an integral part of this album, shaping the sonic aesthetic and highlighting the best traits of each quartet member. Berman’s compositions began as exercises for guitar, which the band arranged, performed, and then creatively responded to in collective improvisations. The improvisations here were chosen from over two hours of material for their focused and definite character. The title track combines a variety of musical material and spaces for improvising into a large form, in which contrasting sounds are quickly juxtaposed and layered with ecstatic energy and a revelatory conclusion.

“The Spoon” was created in fulfillment of my masters degree, and hopefully bears the influence of my numerous mentors, beginning with my dad, a music educator, and continuing with saxophone and composition teachers Dan St. Marseille, Charles Pillow, Brad Shepik, and Ralph Alessi.

This music is adventurous, beautiful, sometimes very noisy, and sometimes very quiet. Please enjoy!