Nate Wooley

"a spiky, raw collection of brief improvisations that see them pushing at each other rather than slipping into comfort zones . . . full of a palpable tension but somehow also very simple and unadorned . . . a fine set of recordings that showcase the act of improvisation in its bared boned glory." - Richard Pinnell, The Wire

"Wooley and Wright have both made extraordinary solo recordings: these duets might represent their sum and difference or their square root. About Trumpet and Saxophone is eminently worthy of close listening. It might enrich or impoverish a listener in a new way." - Stuart Broomer, Point of Departure

"if the history of jazz can be told via great trumpet/saxophone pairings (Bix/Tram, Diz/Bird, Chet/Gerry, Miles/Trane, Don/Ornette, Kenny/Evan...add your own favourites) separated by stylistic quantum leaps, then the pairing of Nate/Seymour might just represent the latest such leap." - John Eyles, All About Jazz

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About Trumpet and Saxophone brings together New York based trumpeter Nate Wooley and London based saxophonist Seymour Wright for a series of intensely material duo improvisations that inhabit the tricky overlap between these two instruments. Recorded on their second encounter, there's an intriguing balance of freshness and reflection in the music here, one that matches their deep knowledge of improvised music's various pasts as well as their commitment to experiment and discovery.

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1. 3:27 
2. 3:25 
3. 3:15 
4. 6:04 
5. 6:48 
6. 9:05 
7. 6:15 
8. 2:07 
9. 4:23

Nate Wooley - trumpet 
Seymour Wright - alto saxophone

Recorded by Rick Campion at City University Music Studios on 4 July 2012 
Mixed and mastered by Rupert Clervaux at Gray’s Inn Road 
Edited by Trevor Brent 
Cover painting by Geoff Wright (Svetlana, 1968) 
Music by Nate Wooley & Seymour Wright

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http://recordings.fataka.net/products/519592-about-trumpet-and-saxophone-nate-wooley-seymour-wright-fataka-8

0 - Nate Wooley & Seymour Wright - About Trumpet and Saxophone (Fataka 8)

“At Peace” is dedicated to the radical bass virtuoso, educator, and  civil rights activist Richard Davis, who always challenged the  boundaries of what was possible and where he belonged, both  musically and socially.  While improvisational based music is certainly more and more accepted in concert music settings now, it is still often considered as "the other", as opposed to thru composed classical music or song based musics.  As a lifelong student and practitioner of a few disparate musical traditions, I often find the separation between different musics that I love disappointing and frustrating.   Why can’t Arnold Schoenberg’s music be heard in concert alongside Charles Mingus’?  Why must Franz Joseph Haydn remain segregated from freely improvised music or Noh theater?  Why can’t the high  lonesome sound of Bill Monroe stand next to the grandeur of Duke  Ellington within the same work?   

As someone who loves so much music, I often feel pressure to conform to the boundaries or trends of a given style or genre, and feel like I'm not “supposed” to express everything I hear, or everything I want to say, if “doesn’t belong”.  Obviously many of these genre or stylistic limitations are conscious hundred(s) years old ways to segregate groups and classes of people, but remain a part of how institutions view styles of music.  Crazy, I know!  But as someone who has so much love in their heart for so many different musical histories, I really don’t care to separate the things that I love, and whether I planned on it or not, that is what is at the center of “At Peace”, for improvising trumpet and string quartet, written for Nate Wooley & Daedalus Quartet.  

This piece marries my love of the entire history of improvised music with my love of the classical tradition, taking far too many influences from in and outside of those histories to clearly identify to creatr something unlike anything I’ve written before.  So that’s pretty cool if you ask me!  Does it  mean it’s good?  Heck no!  But, it does mean that I can take all these things that I love, that I’ve been told to keep separate all of my life, and smush them together in one piece of music that feels like me, and that’s  something that makes me happy.  The bass playing and music of Richard Davis is something that constantly inspires me to be more of myself, no matter what, and with “At Peace”, I feel just a little bit more like myself.  Enjoy!

Daedalus Quartet + Nate Wooley - At Peace (2024)

Nate Wooley: trumpet
Ken Vandermark: Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor, and baritone saxophone



Recorded by Dave Zuchowski at a Milwaukee Option performance held at The Sugar Maple on August 2; and on August 3, 2015, also at The Sugar Maple. Mixed and Mastered by Dave Zuchowski at One Room Studio. Produced by Nate Wooley for Pleasure of the Text Records and Ken Vandermark for Audiographic Records.

Track 5 by Ornette Coleman (Phrase Text Music/ASCAP)
Track 9 by Fred McDowell (Happy Valley Music/BMI)

Tracks 1, 7, and 8 by Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music/ASCAP- Cien Fuegos)

Tracks 2, 3, 4, and 6 by Nate Wooley (fourwordseamusic/BMI)

Album design by Fede Peñalva

Thanks to Adrienne Pierluissi for the gig and for co-producing the Milwaukee Option series, to David Zuchowski and Wendy V. for their work to make these recordings possible, and to Fede Peñalva and Steve Marquette for their assistance at Audiographic Records.

Available at: http://catalyticsound.com/shop/nate-wooley-ken-vandermark-all-directions-home/

Nate Wooley / Ken Vandermark Duo : Another Lecture (For Walter Benjamin)

Nate Wooley: 8 Syllables

From 'Creak above 33' 
Nate Wooley trumpet and amplifier, Paul Lytton percussion and electronics

Daedalus Quartet + Nate Wooley - At Peace (2024)

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