Wayne Horvitz

Sweeter Than the Day

“…quietly powerful chamber modernism full of eclectic composerly acumen that makes dreamlike reference to jazz, country, folk and hymn-like material; a kind of American Ambient…Delightful and original.”

— Mojo

When Wayne Horvitz’s first Songlines CD, American Bandstand, came out in February 2000 it was his first piano record as a leader in 13 years. Its success with critics and the public led to touring and a second set of tunes for this version of Zony Mash (which has become known as Zony Mash Acoustic). The music can be as intense as Zony Mash electric, but more often it expresses the reflective side of Wayne’s temperament: bittersweet, melodically distinctive chamber jazz, an evocative combination of swing, bop, blues, west coast cool, and the occasional edge of free jazz, with echoes of French impressionism and other classical piano music and popular music of the 50s and 60s. Recorded in January 2001, this was Songlines’ first multichannel SACD.

New York born, Seattle-based Wayne Horvitz is one of the more prolific and celebrated composers and keyboardists of the last twenty years. Leader of Zony Mash, Pigpen, and the 4+1 Ensemble, and co-leader of the New York Composers Orchestra and Ponga, he has been a frequent collaborator of John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Butch Morris, Bobby Previte, and his wife Robin Holcomb, among many other practitioners of the new music that has roots in jazz and improvisation but is limited to neither. He also composes for film, TV, dance and theater. His CDs are on Knitting Factory Records, Intuition, Avant, Elektra Nonesuch, and other labels.

****1/2 “…delicious chamber jazz…performed by a well-balanced quartet offering dexterity without neglecting mystery…” — Thierry Bissonnette, Voir.ca

“…summons up forlorn images of a lost heartland…every note seems to carry meaning and purpose.” – Down Beat

“[Horvitz] skirts loft jazz atonality on some tracks but most of them are quite accessible and highly original music-making…Subtle use of the surrounds contribute only to a more natural presence of the instruments in front of you.” — John Henry, Audiophile Audition

Music ****, sound **** “…Tucker Martine puts guitar at left, piano at right, and the rhythm section across the front for a vivid sound.” — Ken Richardson, Sound & Vision