Nels Cline/ Wally Shoup/ Greg Campbell - Bittersweet

For the past 12 years or so, KEXP Radio in Seattle, WA has broadcast Sonarchy Radio, a special one hour program comprised solely of music recorded live in the studio at Jack Straw Productions. With the focus being “new music and sound art made by Pacific Northwest artists”, the concept of capturing the musicians raw in a studio setting for the intent of radio broadcast has resulted in some one-of-a-kind moments.  Saxophonist Wally Shoup, inspired by his collaboration with avant guitarist extraordinaire Nels Cline (Wilco, Nels Cline Singers/Trio, Scarnella etc) and Chris Corsano (today collaborating with Bjork, among others), wrestled Cline up to the Emerald City for the Earshot Jazz fest in 2005, and brought in percussionist Glenn Campbell for the ride – someone Cline admired very much. In the span of 24 hours, they managed to play the fest, an in-store at Tower Records (RIP), and a session for Sonarchy. The results are now immortalized in vinyl as Suite: Bittersweet, a breathtaking document of this fantastic trio in full flight.  Like the previous meeting with Corsano (Immolation/Immersion, Strange Attractors, 2005), jaw-dropping interplay bursting with bombastic power flows into subtle, gentle passages, denoted unmistakably by Cline’s guitar swirls and Shoup’s bourbon-drenched sax, but Campbell’s pure jazz drumming lends a sophisticated pulse to the affair. The blurring of jazz, “fire music” and rock is exquisite, and Suite: Bittersweet shows why these folks are the most versatile musicians working the field today. Recorded live with no overdubs in one continuous moment  the studio – a real sugary jawbreaker of a session. Ltd. edition 1000 LP pressing, Direct Metal Mastering onto 180 gm Czech virgin vinyl

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