Thomas Barber

Thomas Barber's Janus Bloc: Snow Road

by Troy Collins
October 27, 2009

In ancient Roman mythology, Janus, the god of gates, doorways, beginnings and endings, was often depicted with two heads facing in opposite directions--one looking to the past, the other to the future--making him an appropriate signifier for music that embraces a range of historical traditions. Snow Road is the debut recording of trumpeter and recent Julliard graduate Thomas Barber's large ensemble Janus Bloc, whose episodic compositions reveal a plethora of stylistic antecedents, drawing from classical, jazz, and film scores.