UK exponents of jazz vibraphone (vibes) follow a great lineage, including from Victor Feldman to Roger Beaujolais, Jim Hart to more recent performers Ralph Wyld and Jonny Mansfield. In the US, whilst vibes masters such as Milt Jackson, Lionel Hampton and Gary Burton have become legends, the instrument is again coming to the fore via a new generation of artists such as Joel Ross, Sasha Berliner and Patricia Brennan.
Having mightily impressed in Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis Sextet at this year’s North Sea Jazz Festival, Brennan here releases her fourth album Of The Near And Far on pianist Kris Davis’ progressive Pyroclastic Records label. The album adds to the canon of great works centered around this relatively unique instrument, with its demand for both percussive and harmonic expertise.
Brennan has looked to the sky and the constellations as her muse for the album, attempting to as she puts it: “….find symmetry harmonically or melodically by superimposing two symmetrical shapes – one from astronomy and one from music.” If that sounds a little confined, don’t be distracted – the music flows naturally throughout the seven distinct pieces, with plenty of tight ensemble work, but also lots of improvisation by fantastic players too. Brennan has employed such fine cohorts as pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, guitarist Miles Okazaki, bassist Kim Cass, drummer John Hollenbeck, electronic musician Arktureye and in order to utilise their unique skills, four individual strings players, rather than a pre-formed quartet.
On opening track Antlia and second track Aquarius, the melodies and feel are reminiscent of the sublime 90’s Kentucky band Rachel’s and of the equally superb but criminally under-exposed New York based ensemble The Cellar And Point (led by Grammy winning engineer/producer Joseph Branciforte in the mid 2010s). A significant key to their timeless charm is that beautiful harmonies abound – a major strength in Brennan’s compositions here and indeed throughout the album’s entirety.
Andromeda picks up the tempo with some frenetic but melodic playing by Brennan and includes a short but very sweet guitar break by Okazaki, plus some fantastic free piano and fabulous drumming, all overlayed by strings.
Electronic wizardry creates some wonderful shimmering moments on the album, such as on Citlalli and there’s also plenty of focused ‘classical’ string ensemble work, such as on tracks Lyra and Aquila. Final track When You Stare Into The Abyss perhaps comes the closest to what might be imagined as the ‘sound of the stars’, as it slowly evolves in the musical direction of Reich or Richter territory – no bad thing!
The diversity of sounds across all seven pieces, each embellished by Brennan’s fine vibraphone work, make for a rewarding 45 minutes of listening. Recommended.
John Ferguson (Instagram @johnferg01) co-promotes live music at SoundCellar in Poole, Dorset (www.soundcellar.org )
Cover image: Detail of sculpture – Untitled (Sunburst), polished bronze wire and rod, 1960 – by Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) from the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection, photographed by Kevin Todora.
‘Of The Near And Far’ is released on Pyroclastic Records on Friday 24 October 2025
