Gunther's music is pictorial without being simply picturesque. What is most immediately appealing about this music is its modesty... it's about small or simple pleasures, the joys of craft...
Through his more than two dozen recordings as a leader or chief collaborator, saxophonist John Gunther has aesthetically wandered far and wide, finding colors, textures and grooves that would spur the creations from his invariably interesting bandmates. For Painting the Dream, he looked to pianist Dawn Clement and drummer Dru Heller to help celebrate the memory of his colleague, trumpeter Ron Miles, whose music and ways particularly inspired many in the Denver music scene. He also looks to his mother, Judy Gunther, who supplied the paintings that adorn the cover. Her gifted sense of color and balance affected her son throughout his childhood and undoubtedly influenced his compositions and textural choices, which along with Clement's added vocals and Gunther's use of woodwinds and electronics, evolved into a program ranging from intimate set pieces to sweeping landscapes.
Track Listing:
1 In Praise of Softness 4:23
2 Mother Juggler 4:47
3 In Motian 3:07
4 Two Steps Forward 5:14
5 Ron Song 5:03
6 Blues for Dru 6:47
7 Painting the Dream 5:44
8 Us 5:57
9 Turn About 6:32
10 Play Date 4:09
11 Elliptical Motion 5:32
12 When Time Stops 4:06
13 Bubbles 5:02
Music by John Gunther (John Gunther Music, BMI)
except (2) by Ron Miles (Distance for Safety Music, BMI)
Performers:
John Gunther - soprano & tenor saxophones, flute, bass clarinet, electronics
Dawn Clement - piano, Fender Rhodes, voice, electronics
Dru Heller - drums & cymbals
Production Info:
Produced by John Gunther
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Colin Bricker
at Mighty Fine Productions, Denver, CO
Recorded on December 12, 13, 2024
Band photo by Seth Beamer Productions
Paintings by Judy Gunther
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Painting the Dream
Paris Move (Thierry De Clemensat)
5-STARS When Sound Becomes Vision
John Gunther paints with sound. Each note on his latest album, Painting the Dream, feels like a brushstroke drawn from a vivid inner landscape. Listening to it, one senses not just a musician shaping melodies, but a composer sculpting space, color, and emotion. The Denver-based saxophonist, clarinetist, and edu ...
Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
John Gunther plays soprano and tenor saxes, flute, bass clarinet and electronics on this pastel'd trio session with Dawn Clement/p-key-el-voc and Dru Heller/dr. Gunther employs Clement's cirrus voice in a number of the pieces as an extra texture of gentility, as his soprano blends with her around Heller's cymbals on "Mother Juggler" while his tenor ...
