Patricia Brennan's "Of the Near and Far"

With each release, vibraphonist-composer Patricia Brennan has broadened and deepened the scope of her compositional vision. Beginning in 2021 with the solo Maquishti, Brennan has followed up with the percussion-heavy quartet date More Touch (2022), adding a four-horn front line for last year's award winning Breaking Stretch. 

Now, with Of the Near and Far, she deploys an ensemble that juxtaposes a jazz quintet (featuring piano and guitar) with a string quartet and an electronic musician in service of a set of compositions inspired by her interest in astronomy and her background in classical and new music. Like many of my favorite releases of the last decade, it was produced by the estimable David Breskin, and like Brennan's last three albums, it's on Kris Davis's Pyroclastic Records, which has become a trade mark of quality at mi casa the way A&M Horizon and Artists House once were.

Brennan's compositional methodology for this material -- which involved collecting pitch and numerical data from constellations, which she then overlaid on the circle of fifths in search of harmonic or melodic symmetry -- sounds like Pete Townshend Lifehouse sci-fi insanity, but the resultant music is surprisingly consonant, with a tonal palette that evokes celestial space. The lush strings serve as a background and counterpoint to Brennan's pointillistic tuned percussion melodies, which sparkle like stars against their firmament. 

Opener "Antlia" works off overlapping layers of rhythmic irregularity that occasionally coalesce into groove -- mechanistic like electronic dance music, but more organic. "Aquarius," appropriately enough, has a more liquid feel, with the strings again playing contrasting patterns while the rhythm section pulses gently, providing the underpinning for the gorgeous melody. "Andromeda" palpitates with nervous energy and showcases guitarist Miles Okazaki and pianist Silvie Courvoisier to good effect before segueing into "Citlalli," a feature for electronic musician Arktureye. 

This gives way to the lush romanticism of "Lyra," inspired by Greek myth through the filter of Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo. An ascending motif features the strings, first pizzicato to create tension, then arco as the rhythmic complexity builds behind Brennan's shimmering solo. The closing section, with the strings alone, speaks of love and loss. On the closing "When You Stare Into the Abyss," Brennan's tasteful application of electronic effects to her vibraphone creates spacey sonics.

With Of Near and Far, Patricia Brennan affirms her position as an important new voice on her instrument, and a composer worth following. We look forward to hearing where her muse takes her next.