Guided by a desire to create music in which composition and improvisation are equally important and codependent, this project is the latest in a series of recordings the composer has made unifying these traditions. Most clearly indicating Thomson’s creative road to Sextet are the two albums with his cross-genre ensemble Slow/Fast. The most recent of these, Settle, was praised by the New York Times for its “intricate long-form compositions,” and garnered a five-star review in All About Jazz.
For Sextet, The Bang on a Can All-Star reedist expands his ensemble to include alto and tenor saxophones (Thomson and Anna Webber), trumpet (Russ Johnson) and trombone (Alan Ferber), and dropped the chordal instrument, leaving bass (Adam Armstrong) and drums (Daniel Dor). With four horns, the palette is bigger, broader, and more dynamic.
Sextet is an homage to Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Music LP, where Monk focuses on his originals but begins with a chorale from the church, “Abide with Me.” Here, Thomson takes a similar approach, drawing a parallel between his music and its influences – using a György Ligeti harpsichord passacaglia from 1978 as the opening statement, which he arranged for four wind instruments, as a prelude. The Ligeti provides a foundation for the album, with Thomson’s music fusing the intensity, complexity, and thematic cohesiveness of modern composition with the spontaneity and openness of jazz.