Cuneifrom: Curtis Hasselbring – Number Stations / Dieses Wochenende für FIVE

Hasselbring and associates hit all the right notes and fuse a very complex mindset into a vastly entertaining endeavor that increases the program’s breadth, offering a consolidated view of many musical worlds.“ – AllAbout Jazz / Glenn Astarita 

„Number Stations are shortwave radio stations from around the globe that broadcast random series of numbers intermittently, often read by an artificial female voice. They are widely believed to be a cold-war artifact by which clandestine agents receive instructions. The titles of the pieces of this recording are hypothetically decoded from the numeric information stored in the composed music and serve as cryptic instructions for the musicians in the ensemble.“

Intrigued and inspired by the mystery and fascination of these mysterious broadcasts, trombonist/composer Curtis Hasselbring leads an all-star septet which features these major players: Mary Halvorson (guitar), Trevor Dunn (bass), Matt Moran (vibes and marimba) and Chris Speed (tenor sax and clarinet), both of The Claudia Quintet, and dual drummers Ches Smith and Satoshi Takeishi.

Number Stations is comprised of a brilliant set of pieces that display all of the great, singular attributes these preeminent musicians have to offer, with the unusual instrumentation ideally suited for Hasselbring’s fascination with patterns that expand, contract and decay. In a sly echo of Spy Vs Spy skullduggery, the group often plays elements of the ensemble against each other.

Hasselbring’s pieces are highly propulsive while at the same time maintaining a degree of dark humor, ambient spaciousness and highly coordinated ensemble playing. The music has elements of new jazz as well as new rock and has wide appeal beyond just the hard-core jazz audience.

Nothing better illustrates the vaunted position Hasselbring occupies in the New York new music community than his ability to corral so many brilliant and sought after players to be a part of his ensemble!

released January 29, 2013

Curtis Hasselbring : trombone, guitar
Trevor Dunn : acoustic and electric bass
Mary Halvorson : guitar
Matt Moran : vibraphone
Ches Smith : drums, marimba
Chris Speed : tenor saxophone, clarinet
Satoshi Takeishi : drums, percussion

All music composed by Curtis Hasselbring.

Recorded January 2012 by Hugh Pool at Excello Recording, mixed by Danny Blume at Hidden Quarry, Woodstock, NY.
Mastered by Michael King.

All artwork by Steven Erdman.

Number Stations by Curtis Hasselbring and the New Mellow Edwards has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America’s 2010 New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Development program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Mega-thanks to Steve Feigenbaum, Steven Erdman, Hugh Pool, Michael King, Danny Blume, Brian Drye, Tomas Fujiwara, Adam Schatz, Alona Cohen and all the musicians in this amazing band!

1) Click this album link: https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/number-stations
2) Click „Buy Digital Album“
3) Type „10“ into the Name your price field (The discount comes next! 😉 ).
4) Type the word „FIVE“ into the Discount code field.
5) Click „apply“
6) Click „Check out now“ or „Add to Cart“