the drum is honor enough CIMP #305

Listening to Patrick Brennan's music is a bit like looking at a bowl that has been shattered and reassembled but whose fit isn't quite right: you know what it is when looking at it, but it requires some reassessment to take it all in. Extensive Artist and Producer Notes may take you one listen just to get through, another listen to digest, but by the third listen the joy and genius of this concert should be evident. A valuable addition to this veteran's slight but growing discography.

with Newman Taylor Baker-drums, Hilliard Greene-bass, Steve Swell-trombone
Recorded February 17 & 18, 2004.

rapt circle Cadence Jazz Records 1168

Recorded live 3 weeks apart in June 2002 at the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Vision Festival. A sly rhythm falling in and out of funk initiates the series of transitory time signatures, never without the sweat of the blues. At times the writing resembles dub, with an instrument dropping out at a time shift, resuming at the next change. Brennan calls "metagroove...a synthesis of juxtapositions of contrasting grooves" creating an overall groove. CJR would call it a hip dialogue built off (talking) drums projecting light where there is none through interactive improvisation. Or you could just sit back and enjoy the the expositions and declarations of these fine improvising minds.

with Newman Taylor Baker-drums, Hilliard Greene-bass, Juma Santos Ayantola-dun dun & percussion Recorded June, 2002.

sudani deep dish dd-104

Patrick Brennan, Najib Sudani, Nirankar Khalsa and company build upon the commonalities of African-American and African-Maghribi music not only at the level of melody and rhythm, but also at a deeper level of interactive structure, each one giving and taking in turn. Sensitive listening on the part of each musician and a willingness to follow each other without being bound by typical genre constraints makes this recording one of the most satisfying and genuinely collaborative Gnawa explorations to date.

with M'allim Najib Sudani-guimbri, voice, t'bal, Nirankar Khalsa-drums, voice, flute Recorded May, 1999 near Essaouira, Morocco.

which way what deep dish dd-103

There's little more to say about this album other than to recommend it very highly. Brennan's an abstract expressionist with chops. He's utterly coherent in his free associative improvisations, and he imbues his music with a great deal of timbral and rhythmic variety. His compositions are fresh and quite original. Patrick Brennan's a first class saxophonist and composer, and his trio is one of the most interesting I've heard in some time.

with Rachiim Ausar-Sahu-bass, Acácio Salero Cardoso-drums
Recorded August, 1995.