...an artist of the first order...Everywhere his playing is marked by finely judged balance and exquisite melodic colour...
Adding to his inarguably singular and ambitious body of work, the saxophonist, composer and Fulbright Scholar captures a year of study and creation in the Irish city of Limerick with this collection of eight new compositions, along with a captivating reading of the traditional Irish song, "She Moved Through the Fair." Surrounded by musicians ready to engage and collaborate, Confluence displays a similar dynamism to his Ghana-inspired album Joy, or his volumes with multiple highly accomplished American poets. Solidly reflecting their place, time, and the significant talents involved, they also carry the thread of an artist with an undeniable voice and vision. The searing guitar work of Joe O'Callaghan, the expansive drumming of John Daly and the uniquely personal voice of Jane Fraser (aka JaYne) on three songs are standouts in this engaging and often moving collection.
Track Listing:
1 On the Banks of the Shannon 4:40
2 Confluence 8:38
3 Your Eyes Meeting Mine 3:53 (feat. JaYne)
4 Monkette 6:11
5 In the Twilight 5:43 (feat. JaYne)
6 The Clash of the Ash 7:24
7 Another Round at Margaret's 4:11
8 Stern Warning 5:12
9 She Moved Through the Fair 4:13 (feat. JaYne)
Music by Benjamin Boone (Vester Music, ASCAP) except:
(3,5) by Benjamin Boone, words by Jane Fraser
(9) Traditional, arr. by Benjamin Boone
Performers:
Benjamin Boone - alto saxophone
Joe O'Callaghan - acoustic and electric guitars
John Daly - drums
Dan Bodwell - upright bass (1,4,6,9)
Rory Murphy - electric/upright bass (2,3,5,7,8)
JaYne - vocals (3,5,9)
James Miley - piano/Fender Rhodes (1,2,5)
Rodrigo Dalla - percussion (1,9)
Production Info:
Produced by James Miley and Benjamin Boone
Recorded by Ben Wanders
at Wanderland Recording Studios, Limerick, Ireland
July 11,12,14, 2023
Mixed & mastered by Mike Marciano
at Systems Two, Long Island, NY
Cover Design and Layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Confluence: The Ireland Sessions
Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
Alto saxist Benjamin Boone creates an album of originals that mix instrumentals and vocals in artistic fashion. Usually, when a vocalist is brought in, the mood of an album changes, but JaYne is included here on three pieces that are like parts of a musical mosaic, fitting in perfectly. She glides around Joe O'Callaghan's tasty guitar work on "You ...
Album Liner Notes (Jason Crane)
"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." —Oliver Wendell Holmes
"It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody." —Brendan Behan
The Oliver Wendell Holmes quote is loftier, but the Brendan Behan quote gets closer to the ...
All About Jazz (Paul Rauch)
Saxophonist/composer/educator Benjamin Boone is known as a project artist in the first degree. His collaboration with major modern poets has produced a foursome of albums on the Origin Records label, including two with US Poet Laureate, Philip Levine. His saxophone approach could be described as colorful melodicism, a quality accentuated by Boone's ...
