RECORDING: “TranceFormation in Concert”

...these switches from parallel to serial listening are delightfully unpredictable and satisfying on many levels, speaking to deep listening and collaboration… Ben Manley’s recording is gorgeous as usual and it captures each detail of the multivalent interaction that inhabits every moment of this group’s excellent first offering. May there be many more!   •  Marc Medwin, New York City Jazz Record (complete review HERE)

Ahhhhhhhh, joy of joys!, I understood I’d chanced across a true trio never out of synch, alive and connected, thinking and playing on its feet in existentially fractured harmony. Rare, y’all, rare… . a pure heady freak-out in a jazz a-v vein for over 50 ecstatic minutes, a cascade of rapidly shifting moods, most of them Dalinian, paranoid-critical and edge-sensual but emanating from a loopily smiling lysergic genie in the skies and thus benevolent; it ain’t The Swans or Merzbow but it’s just as radical.  • Mark Tucker, Acoustic Music . com (complete review HERE)

a scintillating demonstration of the art of improvisation. . . an exhilarating sonic image of where jazz (and jazz singing in particular) is located today and hints at the possible routes it might take tomorrow.    • Bruce Crowther, JazzMostly . com (complete review HERE; when  you get there, scroll down page)

The music on these tracks is relentlessly moving and imaginative, with Crothers and Filiano so in tune with each other that they’re able to create all manner of shade and mystery when accompanying actual lyrics, and construct wondrously strange architecture when all three are deep into pure sound. • Jason Bivens, Cadence Magazine (complete review HERE)

Lyrical and instrumental improvisational poetry in motion. In terms of creativity it is off the charts . . . A captivating performance for those that like to step outside their traditional vocal jazz comfort zone.   • Brent Black, Critical Jazz (complete review HERE)

For those of us who like free improvisation, this is just what the doctor ordered. TranceFormation is a trio featuring pianist Connie Crothers, bassist Ken Filiano and scatting, vocalese master, Andrea Wolper. If the instrumentals are too abstract, check out “The Things You See In New York City”. They are fueled by each other’s energy and years of experience make them comfortable enough to explore with no fear. In a trance? Yes, in their zone that overflows to their audience with an abundance of spirit. • D. Oscar Groomes, O’s Place Jazz Magazine

As has been said on many occasions, even “free jazz” had its rules and structure; by avoiding those guidelines, this music takes great risks at every turn. Like the other albums in this survey, “TRANCEformation in Concert” is not for every taste, but for those willing to go along, it is a fascinating journey. • Thomas Cunniffe, Jazz History Online (complete review HERE)

 Inspiring improvisation at its best! • Grego Edwards, Gapplegate Music Review (complete review HERE)

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LIVE: Chris Kelsey’s TranceFormation Performance_Review