"'...the foursome's gift is in mind-melding their disparate urges into a single compelling direction."
Shaun Brady - Downbeat (4 star review!!!!)
"'The Epidemic of Ideas' is not only an apt title for blink.'s debut, it's an advertisement for the kind of surprise and promise they deliver in spades."
Thom Jurek - All Music Guide
"The music...expands and contracts throughout the recording's progression, reaching ostensible finales...the instruments retreat and regain their separateness only to then reinvest themselves through a ceaselessly melodic sound."
Lyn Horton - All About Jazz
"...Miller and Ward are perfect foils — needling each other, playing in splintered counterpoint, making a ruckus..."
Jon Garelick - Boston Phoenix
"'The Epidemic of Ideas' puts you on edge, but ultimately satisfies the inner human need for danger and cathartic release."
Brad Walseth - Jazzchicago.net
blink. is a musical collective steeped in jazz, rock, and free improvisation featuring bassist Jeff Greene, drummer Quin Kirchner, guitarist Dave Miller, and saxophonist Greg Ward. blink.’s members, all young and active Chicago-based musicians, came together in the fall of 2006 with the purpose of playing some of Jeff’s new compositions and experimenting with improvisational ideas. The chemistry was immediately apparent to everyone involved and a new ensemble was born. Its members have performed with musical luminaries such as Jeff Parker, Hamid Drake, Steve Coleman, Mark Turner, Von Freeman, Ernest Dawkins, Kalyan Pathak, and Rufus Reid at venues spanning North America and in Asia, Europe, Africa, and South America. Their compositions have been commissioned and performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Peoria Ballet Company, and have received awards from the Illinois Arts Council.
Their debut recording, “The Epidemic of Ideas,” is the result of months of rehearsals, performances, and numerous fun-filled experiments, which were ultimately recorded in the converted bank vault of the I.V. Lab Studios on Chicago’s north side. To further bring the music to life they enlisted the help of Manny Sanchez, the I.V. Lab’s founder and masterful engineer. His experience with local and national rock staples such as Algernon, Billy Corgan, and Umphrey’s McGee ensured that “The Epidemic of Ideas” would sound unique among other post-rock/post-jazz affairs. It features twelve original compositions and will be released in the fall of 2008 on the Thirsty Ear label.
JFJO returns to CHICAGO at the House of Blues on SAT. APRIL 4th with the new quartet lineup, in support of 'Winterwood' - the new studio album available as FREE download at www.JFJO.com! Fifth World opens. See you there!
Make sure you let me know if you're coming out to DC again. I'll try to bring some friends to your show. I could also try to find you somewhere to stay if needed. Hope all is well,
thanks for the invite! I was happy to see that article in signal to noise :) And yeah, Mark Dresser's performance on my series, last spring was truly astonishing!!!
