Jack Wright saxes ...........................................Ben Bennett percussion...................................Zach Darrup guitar

 

The CD "Not Nothing" on Amalgamusic was recorded in Chicago, Sept. 2019, and is available from the musicians. Online they can be heard here

Jack Wright responds to the word "musician" and "saxophonist" (among others). He is mild-mannered in most social situations, doesn't kill most animals, and obeys most road signs. He improvises, sometimes astutely, sometimes foolishly, but whatever it is, more sounds come out of his horn than you are likely to have heard.

Ben Bennett doesn’t talk much, thinks hard and often about how to do good in the world, and ends up playing the drums when he decides he has nothing better to do. Apparently that's the case fo rthe past 23 years. Apparently his solution is to sound like the whole world coming out of a drum set.

Zach Darrup is an improvising guitarist currently living in Philadelphia. During his early teenage years in the rural coal region of Pennsylvania a strange boy appeared like an angel, carrying a large cd booklet of wild musics of all sorts. This chance meeting at a pizza shop, plus tumultuous relationships with his home turf, school teachers, and other agents of law and rule enforcement led Zach to drop out and skip town, devoting himself to following music wherever it would take him--somewhere else. His techniques are informed by the musical possibilities of film language, jovial mockery and mimicry of plants, animals, and audience members, thoughtful room listening, word play, colors, and culinary experiments.

Never toured the last time in the fall 2019, messing with the musical consciousness of Easton PA, Olean NY, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Muskegon MI, Chicago, Indianapolis, Dayton, and Pittsburgh.

Review of Never in Free Jazz Blog by Fotis Nikolakopoulos: "...The fact that they know each other and have built a communicative language really shows on Never. Their interaction is impeccable. Especially since Wright’s work through the years isn’t one that needs categorization, but as a reference point here would be European improvisation of the freest form from the early 70’s. It is very rare that you come close to such a dedicated interaction between musicians.

Darrup’s gentle plucking, fingering and use of electricity proves an adequate equivalent for the low volume sax attack of Wright’s phrases. It is very easy to get lost under the power of electricity when your mates are playing acoustically, but Darrup never ceases to amaze with the balance he finds. It might seem as an antithesis but many times I found myself considering Bennett’s percussion work along with Wright’s sax as a duo within this trio. They seem that they play in unison, one mind behind two instruments…

From the very beginning up to the last second, more than hour later, Never impresses. They never ran out of ideas, they keep the energy flow really high, they never bore you even if you have listened to a billion of improvisational recordings. The five star rating is no exaggeration."

For Bookings: jackwri555 at gmail dot com