Acclaimed composer and bassist Stephan Crump presents an extraordinary ensemble and body of work inspired by the movement to redefine how we live with water in an era of rapid change.
Yuhan Su • vibraphone
Fung Chern Hwei • viola
Erica Dicker • violin
Jacob Garchik • trombone
Kenny Warren • trumpet
Stephan Crump • acoustic bass
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Imagine music that is free from constraints or agendas; music that overflows with attention to its wondrous surroundings; music that is allowed to meander and take its time, trusting that, through the right collective intent, stretching broad and deep, fertile wonderlands just might appear.
Stephan Crump’s poignant and immersive Slow Water does just that. A continuous piece rendered by a stellar sextet of new music and jazz ringers, Slow Water uses science, natural philosophy, and empathy to imagine the secret life that water leads, from its creatures and chemistry to its sense of near-magical motion.
Crump’s collaborations with Mary Halvorson, Tyshawn Sorey, Ingrid Laubrock, Vijay Iyer, and Borderlands Trio long ago confirmed his place at the vanguard of modern jazz. With Slow Water Crump allowed the question of what water wants to do when not being controlled by humans to guide decisions at every stage in the creative process, leading to transformative discoveries in approach to composition and band-leading. Crump wanted both band and its pieces to flow together, to move as water would and to enable, as water also does, a larger ecosystem. For musicians and listeners alike, the experience has been revelatory, changing their relationship with performance, with themselves, and with nature itself.
“mystical” **** – allmusic
“both daring and beautiful” – PopMatters
“a creative masterwork” **** – AllAboutJazz
“haunting, plangent and memorable music” – The Wire
“deep and consequential...highly recommended” – The Tracking Angle
“As a bassist and composer, Mr. Crump avoids obvious routes but manages never to lose his way” – The New York Times
Slow Water is available on Double-LP, CD, Hi-Res Download at stephancrump.bandcamp.com and stephancrump.com