Review of our recent EP from Signal To Noise:
Sunship
Sunship- Sunship Music CD-R
From
the ashes of the late Seattle band Stinkhorn rises Sunship, a solid
post-fusion outfit that draws directly on some of the top-shelf jazz of
the seventies: electric Miles, Ornette’s Prime Time, Sonny Sharrock,
and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Though it seems to be a co-op effort,
saxophonist Michael Monhart contributes most of the compositions here,
the first of which, “Spotless Pots,” takes cues from dirges like
“Alabama” and “Lonely Woman.” Monhart’s tenor and Stuart Dempster’s
trombone make a lovely sound together, limning this hymn of
downtrodden-ness. “Moonlight” strikes a similar mood with its mournful
melody, backed this time with dissonant, droning shades straight out of
the Get Up with It playbook. Guitarist Brian Heaney contributes two
tunes, “Psalm X,” which would seem to pay homage (in title, anyway) to
O.C., but which rolls and roars more like Ornette’s disciple Shannon
Jackson and his Decoding Society. Dave Revelli’s drums and Andrew
Luthringer’s e-bass weave a richly textured polyrhythmic carpet
(awesomely recorded by Doug Haire). Trickster Dempster lays out, except
for the heads and a short squeaky-toy solo, a little off-mic—which may
be just as well. Heaney’s other piece, “Ufology,” peels back your scalp
and prods some burning alien implants into your cranium … too bad it
all ends so soon! The album closes with another dirge, this one
improvised---the tightest of the three improves on the disc. While it
may not transcend it’s influence’s, this Sunship flies high and burns
brightly on it’s maiden voyage. Tom Djll
Signal To Noise—Spring/2008 issue. http://www.signaltonoisemagazine.org/
| Sunship joins former Stinkhorn
members, Brian Heaney (guitar)
and Michael Monhart (saxophones)
with David Revelli (drums),
from the Grassy Knoll, and
from the San Francisco music
scene, Andrew Luthringer (bass).
Internationally renown Stuart
Dempster (trombone, didjeridu,
conch and small instruments)
joined in 2005 and fills out
this swinging "intergalectric"
ensemble. Sunship plays
regularly in clubs and festivals
in the Seattle area.
www.myspace.com/sunshipmusic
contact:michael@michaelmonhart.com
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