Northwoods Improvisers - Branches - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The Northwoods Improvisers return with a new album. Fanfares is the latest effort with a quintet/sextet lineup that includes the veteran rhythm section of Mike Johnston and Nick Ashton and reunites them with a fierce front line of saxophonists Dominic Bierenga and Donovan Boxey, and the strings of Jack O'Brien and Mike Khoury. While the group touches on the spiritual in many ways, they also bring forth fire in the form of the winds duo of Bierenga and Boxey. The music has the strong rhythm section listeners will instantly recognize with Johnston's deep bass lines and Ashton's powerful drumming. Johnston, O'Brien and Khoury form a rich string section enhancing the compositions.

Vinyl LP pressing. Digitally remastered edition of this 1995 album. Vee Vee was a slight departure from the bombastic Noisepop that characterized Archers of Loaf's previous work, and the album's success proved that the band wasn't just a flash in the pan. The album became their best-selling album to date and landed them on the covers of national publications and at the top of college radio charts across the country. InchHarnessed in SlumsInch and InchGreatest of All TimeInch became anthems of the underground and led to successful tours with the Flaming Lips and Weezer and international tours of Europe and Australia.

The Northwoods Improvisers return with a new album comprising their first in 10 years. The music is all acoustic and skillfully recorded with a version of Faruq Z. Bey's Inch19 MoonsInch as well as a version of Mike Johnston's InchTasbihInch, a piece dedicated to Bey. The connection to Bey and the Detroit Jazz community is strong, as both Nick Ashton and Johnston were key performers in the seminal work Bey completed in the twilight of his life. The group touches on the spiritual in many ways, and they bring forth fire in the form of the young winds duo of Dominic Berenga and Donovan Boxey who are wise beyond their years.