Search - Spokes :: Not So Fast

The Spokes is a unique wind trio co-led by three composer/instrumentalists, who each have a distinctive musical personality and diverse history on the New York music scene: Andy Biskin (clarinet), Curtis Hasselbring (trombone) and Phillip Johnston (soprano saxophone). All three compose for the group with their own personal approach, but their music
The Spokes: Not So Fast (strudelmedia SMCD-012)
is linked by a lyrical sense of melody, a wry sense of humor, and a distinctive, idiosyncratic compositional voice. They each have a substantial history and discography as bandleaders and as sidemen and their footsteps can be traced through the differing threads of the Downtown scene in New York and beyond.
On this debut recording - Not So Fast (Strudelmedia, release date 9/2/11) - The Spokes channel influences from early 20th-century chamber music, New Orleans jazz, Third Stream music, Civil War brass bands, and contemporary classical idioms, all delivered with wit and agility (think Jimmy Giuffre's trios, Debussy's chamber pieces, or Raymond Scott's horn section). Also influential are the many groups led by the composers in their individual careers, such as The Microscopic Septet, Trio Tragico, The New Mellow Edwards, Fast 'N' Bulbous, and Decoupage.