Herculaneum

Herculaneum: Herculaneum III

by Nic Jones
November 24, 2009

In some respects what we have here is music that's a step on from Jimmy Giuffre's work in the 1950s, but if it's the chamber music notion that unites the two bodies of work across the intervening half-century, it's clear that this band marches to a rhythmically more vigorous aesthetic. The music is at times alive with a kind of tensile energy that similarly invalidates the Giuffre comparison, but what unites the two is a sense of exploration, of goals ...

Herculaneum: Orange Blossom

by Jerry D'Souza
October 30, 2006

The excellence that marks 482 Music's Document Chicago series carries on with this twelfth release. As before, the series serves to showcase the diverse talent that marks the improvised jazz scene in Chicago; Herculaneum brings in its own influences, which it shapes into an earthy, heated and prolifically inspired voice in constant shift.

The band, which was formed in 2002, adopts an avant-garde approach but also has the sensibility of Romany Gypsy brass bands. That's one for the ...

Herculaneum: Orange Blossom

by Nic Jones
October 23, 2006

One of the questions that always seem to be raised about original compositions addresses the issue of whether or not they hold the promise of longevity. It's a question that seems especially pertinent here.

Drummer Dylan Ryan has come up with a programme of compositions here which, while they might lack something from the melodic point of view--there are certainly no obvious hooks--show a depth of character that puts them well beyond the time-honoured line for blowing on that might ...

Herculaneum: Orange Blossom

by Troy Collins
October 10, 2006

Herculaneum is both the sister city to Pompeii, also destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and a blazingly original modernist quintet with capable chops and ample ideas. The brainchild of drummer Dylan Ryan, the group's resident composer, Herculaneum is a rare entity: a new group that seemingly arrives from nowhere, fully formed with its own sound. Although Orange Blossom is Herculaneum's second album, following an eponymous 2004 debut, it is likely the first one most people will hear.

482 Music's Document Chicago Series Continues With Herculaneum's Orange Blossom

Source: Improvised Communications
August 17, 2006

On October 17th, 482 Music will release Herculaneum's Orange Blossom (482 -1051), the 12th title in the label's ongoing Document Chicago series, which has been recording the latest generation of the city's illustrious creative music scene for the past four years. Founded in 2002, Herculaneum mixes creative improvisation with diverse influences such as 20th Century avant-garde composition and Romany Gypsy brass bands to create a cohesive yet cosmopolitan new sound.

“The band's trombone/trumpet/alto sax front line paints lush chordal sketches ...
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