Wrack

Formed in Chicago in 2002 and maintained long distance until 2015, Wrack was Bruckmann’s first prominent vehicle for his compositions teetering at the intersection of the jazz and classical avant-gardes. While the melodic and contrapuntal content often invokes European modernism, the open structures, improvisational procedures, and slapstick streak are equally indebted to the African-American Creative Music tradition and Bruckmann’s parallel history in post-punk noise-rock.

Wrack’s core members (Jason Stein, bass clarinet; Jen Clare Paulson, viola; Anton Hatwich, bass; and Tim Daisy, percussion) are highly active bandleaders and sidemen, with other past and present affiliations include the Vandermark 5, Fast Citizens, Rempis Percussion Quartet, the Aram Shelton Quartet, Engines, Guillermo Gregorio’s MADI Ensemble, Made to Break, and Vox Arcana.

Performances

This is a 2012 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Commission, made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and presented by the Outsound New Music Summit in San Francisco. Many thanks to Charles Smith for the footage, and to so many others (fawned over elsewhere) for an amazing project. Click here for interviews regarding the project’s creation. Reviews of the ALBUM have appeared at Dusted, All About Jazz, and the Chicago Reader.

This footage is from a February 2012 performance at Audio for the Arts, Madison WI (massive thanks to everyone at Surrounded by Reality, and to Clint Mosling for the videography and Steve Gotcher for the audio recording), and a September 2010 performance at Trinity Chamber Concerts, Berkeley CA.17

Album Reviews

“dazzling proof that intricately arranged, angular modern jazz can be accessible and enjoyable.”

Wire

“Bruckmann is an excellent composer, striking the right balance between form and freedom, setting up abundant opportunities for his mates to express themselves.”

Signal to Noise

“. . . effortlessly occupies the space between jazz and classical music, generating movements of somber reflection one minute, turbulent intensity the next. From Morton Feldman-esque minimalism to Charles Ives-like bluster, Wrack has few equals. . . Whether Wrack qualifies as free jazz, chamber jazz or some other hybrid is irrelevant: this is music made by artists unafraid of genre constraints.”

All About Jazz

Press Photos

Photo credit: Peter Gannushkin Email Peter for print-quality files

Photo Credit: John Sturdy