David Binney – alto sax
Quinsin Nachoff – tenor sax, compositions
Matt Mitchell – piano, fender rhodes, organ, wurlitzer, moog synth
Kenny Wollesen – drums, percussion
“a world that spans jazz and pop inflection to create something at once familiar and ‘wondrous strange'”‘” (Wholenote Magazine)
Ottawa Citizen critic Peter Hum described Flux’s debut concert at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival’s Winterlude as “a pure, bracing, thought-provoking music…cliché-and convention-free” and “advanced and viscerally hard-hitting original music”.
This bass-less ensemble draws on sounds and influences from the 1970’s filtered through a 21st century lens. Improvisation, composition and orchestration all play integral roles in the structured evolution of each piece. Jazz, Rock, Pop and Contemporary Classical genres are blended into a cohesive and unique sound.
★★★★
“…an intensity and modernity, a brashness and in-your-face confidence of delivery”
Dan McClenaghan, AllAboutJazz
full review (PDF)
“…breathtakingly inventive as group members and as individual players.”
Donald Elfman, New York City Jazz Record
full review (PDF)
“[Nachoff]’s playing was a revelation. Parsing shimmers of Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter and Mark Turner, he constructed an amalgam of classical counterpoint and rugged expressionistic improv…”
Michael Jackson, DownBeat
full review (PDF)
★★★★
“The quartet’s self-command is engaged in a battle with each individual player’s sense of freedom, making for that agitation that marks all great music.”
Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz
full review (PDF)
“…the juxtaposition of the comparatively deliberate ‘Astral Echo Poem’ and the whirling maelstrom that is the concluding “Tilted’ demonstrates the combo’s thrillingly wide range.”
Michael Roberts, Jazziz
full review (PDF)
Critic’s Pick
“Marked by an impenetrable unity, ‘Flux’ overflows with great resourcefulness, becoming a distinct echo of modernity and inspiration.”
JazzTrail
full review (PDF)
★★★★
“The initial perplexity of listening gives way to curiosity, fascination and endorsement.”
David Cristol, Jazz Magazine (France)
full review (PDF)
★★★★
“…the quartet projects a cunning musical personality as large and small surprises trickle through the seams on a recurring basis…”
Glenn Astarita, AllAboutJazz
full review (PDF)
Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
full review (PDF)
“…a memorable evening. The thought provoking concert with its fervent delivery echoed in listeners’ memory long after the evening concluded.”
Hrayr Attarian, AllAboutJazz
full review (PDF)
Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
full review (PDF)
“…alive with subtle underpinnings and a sometimes jarring surface, all of it brilliantly executed, interpreted and extended by his current quartet of prominent New Yorkers.”
Stuart Broomer, theWholeNote
full review (PDF)
Greek Review
full review (PDF)
“The overall feel is strong forward movement: rhythmic variety and always with sensitivity to the composition and each other.”
Keith Black, Winnipeg Free Press
full review (PDF)
Ken Waxman, theWholeNote
full review (PDF)
“avant-avuncular”
Mike Greenblatt, Goldmine
full review (PDF)