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Variable Density Sound Orchestra

The Variable Density Sound Orchestra is veteran Boston-based guitarist/composer Garrison Fewell's newest working ensemble. Whenever possible, this international group features charter members Roy Campbell (trumpet and flute), Achille Succi (alto saxophone and bass clarinet), Eric Hofbauer (guitar), John Voigt (bass) and Miki Matsuki (drums), all of whom appear on its self-titled February 2009 debut.

As the band’s name implies, its original music, composed and conceived by Fewell, explores a wide range of textures and musical interactions. “The goal,” he explains, “is to create balance, not allowing individual soloists, collective instant composing or pre-composed material to dominate for too long.”

Fewell actively shapes the ensembles music with the other musicians. The 10 tracks on their debut, which range from completely improvised to original compositions with a stronger framework for individual expression, take their inspiration from longstanding interests such as ancient cultures, spirituality, and the music of Albert Ayler, Anthony Braxton and Sun Ra.

"Guitarist Garrison Fewell has never stopped moving forward on his musical journey from accomplished post-bop guitarist to free-jazz explorer," writes music journalist Ed Hazell in the liner notes for Variable Density Sound Orchestra. "Here, on his most fully realized and personal recording in the free jazz idiom to date, you can still hear the thoughtfulness, tenderness, and intimacy; careful listening; and the rigorous construction of line and feel for melody that have marked all his albums. The Variable Density Sound Orchestra is a group well suited to realizing Garrison's concepts and compositions."

Variable Density Sound Orchestra: Evolving Strategies

Read "Evolving Strategies" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
January 18, 2015

The constituent parts of guitarist Garrison Fewell's Variable Density Sound Orchestra shifted gradually between its eponymous inception (Creative Nation, 2008) and sophomore effort on Sound Particle 47 (Creative Nation, 2010). Inevitably there will be further changes in the future if the unit continues, as both trumpeter Roy Campbell and reedman John Tchicai have passed on since the session which yielded Evolving Strategies in January 2012. Such losses will make a big difference as the group has developed a distinctive ethos ...

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Recording

Ari Hest Number One on Itunes; USA Today Says "Listen Up"

Source: Seth Cohen PR
March 13, 2009

ARI HEST HITS #1 iTUNES SINGER-SONGWRITER CD WITH'TWELVE MONDAYS'; USA TODAY GIVES HIM A 'LISTEN UP MUSIC PICK' Ari Hest's new studio CD “Twelve Mondays” has reached THE #1 POSITION ON ITUNES SINGER-SONGWRITER CHART - Released 3/10, the album features re-worked versions of 12 fan- selected songs, culled from Ari’s recently-completed, unprecedented ‘52’ project, during which he wrote, recorded, produced and released one new song per week, for 52 weeks in a row. EARLIER THIS WEEK, USA TODAY PICKED THE ...
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Recording

Ari Hest: 2 Sold-out Nights at Joe's Pub; 'Twelve Mondays' out 3/10

Source: Seth Cohen PR
March 2, 2009

Ari Hest Sells Out Two Nights at Joe’s Pub in NYC; Twelve Mondays CD Set For 3/10 Release

A Captivating Live Performer…Now with an Arsenal of Songs Boston Globe

Major U.S Tour Set for March/April

Ari Hest will celebrate the 3/10 release of his new studio CD, Twelve Mondays, with two sold-out concerts at Joe's Pub in NYC, March 13th and 14th. On March 7th, Hest will preview the CD via a private, XM Live Satellite concert ...
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This is as intriguing a project as has been available on the contemporary jazz scene, and comes highly recommended. It's chock full of inventive musicianship, truly new concepts, and fresh approaches that pay big dividends.
--Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

Recommended New Release (February 2009)
--Laurence Donohue-Greene, AllAboutJazz-New York

An intense two-guitar chamber group led by the Boston guitarist, whose output with colleague Eric Hofbauer is looking more and more essential.
--David R. Adler, Lerterland

There’s one strange and wonderful event after another in Fewell’s pieces -- eloquent solo statements, serendipitous combinations of clang and sigh, the beauty of his guitar set across the soundstage from Hofbauer’s slightly harder-edged sound as the two support the other players. At times, the bed of complimentary guitar sounds acts like a pine-needle-covered path through a shady forest.
--Jon Garelick, Boston Phoenix