The Sky Cries

two of the most well matched jazz musicians ever put together
jazzreview.com

Seattle trumpeter Chad McCullough joins with Slovakian pianist Michal Vanoucek for an album of varied sonic landscapes and ever-changing moods. The Sky Cries follows up on concerts in The Hague (Michal's home for the last decade) and the Pacific Northwest, where together they molded their music into something distinctly their own - blending modern jazz ("Where The Sky Cries" and "Blue In Breed") with European influences ("Time-lapse" and "Krasna") and an openness that is decidedly Northwest ("Urban Grassland" and "Soliloquy for D.G."). They're joined by saxophonist Mark Taylor, Dave Captein on bass, and Matt Jorgensen on drums.

Production Info:

Produced by Chad McCullough & Michal Vanoucek
Recorded by Don Gunn, at Robert Lang Studios, October 23rd 2009
Mixed by Don Gunn, at The Office
Mastered by John McCaig, panicStudios; Seattle, WA

Reviews of The Sky Cries

Jazz Society of Oregon (George Fendel)
Seattleite Chad McCullough enlists the help of Northwest stalwarts Mark Taylor, alto saxophone, Dave Captein, bass, and Matt Jorgenson, drums, in addition to European pianist Michael Vanoucek, on a selection of original material. McCullough and Vanoucek's writing encompasses varied moods, tempos and sonic nuances. All the players have shining solo ...

Greatest Jazz Blog (Ken Watkins)
As in last year's excellent 'Dark Wood, Dark Water', Chad McCullough teams up with saxophonist Mark Taylor ? also featured on Randy Halberstadt's recent 'Flash Point' - and two other mainstays of the North West jazz scene, Dave Captein (bass) and Matt Jorgensen (drums). The added dimension on 'The Sky Cries' is Slovakian pianist Michal Vanoucek. ...

JazzReview.com (Thomas R. Erdmann)
Seattle-based trumpeter and composer, Chad McCullough, teams up with Slovakian and currently The Hague-based pianist, Michal Vanoucek, as leaders for a straight-ahead jazz quintet recording of ten original compositions. McCullough, who has earned degrees from the University of Idaho and the University of Washington, has worked in the Disneyland ba ...

All Music Guide (Ken Dryden)
Trumpeter Chad McCullough has worked extensively with Slovakian pianist Michal Vanoucek, leading to this studio collaboration. Their music resists labeling due to its wide scope. Accompanied by alto saxophonist Mark Taylor, bassist Dave Captein, and drummer Matt Jorgenson, the co-leaders contributed five originals each for this session. The trumpet ...

Cadence (Jerome Wilson)
The Sky Cries is lively mainstream modern Jazz out of the Pacific Northwest led by trumpeter Chad McCullough and pianist Michal Vanoucek. The two men split the writing chores here but all of their pieces are intricate and involving. McCullough's "Urban Grassland" and "Soliloquy" pits the lyrical shapes of his trumpet playing against the sharp, sour ...