Patrick Cress' Telepathy

Bio:

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"The four-piece, based in San Francisco, sprang to life in March 2002 as bandleader Patrick Cress.. beloved brainchild. Cress, a University of Michigan graduate with schooling in jazz and classical theory under his belt, plays alto and baritone saxophones and composes for the quartet. He conceived of the general concept of the combo through a particular admiration for the work of multi-instrumentalist and composer Ornette Coleman, saxophonist/composer Tim Berne, and others propelling the sound of jazz into modernity with fond traditions in tow.

Telepathy proves itself worthy of trailblazing aspirations with an unusual lineup utilizing saxophone, bass clarinet, acoustic bass, and drums. Their aim, well met with the 2003 LP Liberate the Radio Stations and the 2005 LP Meditation, Realization, is to pay homage to the roots of America..s art by advancing it through well-founded improvisation.

Cress recruited a jewel of a drummer to prop us his band in San Francisco player Tim Bulkley. Bulkley..s drumming epitomizes the combo..s free-but-tight format, displaying regimentation where necessary and melody-minded abandon when the mood calls for it. His frequent dictation of unconventional time signatures is a hallmark of the Telepathy formula.

With Cress.. smart original compositions as a basis (incidentally, Bulkley collaborates with him on one of the original tracks on Liberate the Radio Stations), this young, heady band gets back to the intentions of early jazz, creating new landscapes in sound and keeping toes tapping. The level of Telepathy..s namesake ability to speak to one another through their instruments shows great promise for a band that..s been together for such a short time, and they..ve definitely got the stuff to speak to an audience without using words."

- Raw Jazz Ingenuity by Jeff Trainor, October 29, 2004 , The Source

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Member Since:

May 03, 2006

Members:

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Patrick Cress (alto and baritone saxophones)

Aaron Novik (Bb and bass clarinets)

George Ban-Weiss (upright bass)

Tim Bulkley (drums)

Jamie Moore (drums)

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Influences:

John Zorn, Kneebody, Ornette Coleman, Tim Berne, Bela Bartok, Gyorgy Ligeti, Nils Peter Molvaer, Don Sinta, John Coltrane, Claudia Quintet, Jaga Jazzist, Craig Taborn, Claude Debussy

Sounds Like:

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Bay Area jazz saxophonist Patrick Cress and clarinetist Aaron Novik -- the dynamic front line of the Telepathy quartet -- draw their compositions from a broad palette while maintaining a unified vision. The group cannily interweaves melody and dissonance, soulful World Saxophone Quartet-style riffs and ambient abstraction, rock-solid grooves and free-breathing swing. The composers often dig deep into unusual time signatures, which give the music a lunging momentum on "State of Memory" and a serpentine dreaminess on "The Shadowboxer." While the song structures benefit from cohesive arrangements and lots of notes on the page, an equal measure of natural-sounding improv also shapes the music. The result is a multiplicity of voices coming together in a single kaleidoscopic sound.

-Sam Prestianni, SF Weekly

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Record Label:

Odd Shaped Case