Orange Blossom

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Bears of Illium	5:35	Play
2		Let There Be Neon	4:27	Play
3		Fuzball in Valhalla	6:21	Play
4		Girl We Couldn't Get Much Higher	7:07	Play
5		Lionheart	6:25	Play
6		Cry of the Locusts	5:40	Play
7		Twin Unicorns	5:56	Play
8		Return to the Woods	7:02	Play

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Description

Orange Blossom is the 12th title in the 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. Orange Blossom, the group's follow-up to its eponymous self-released 2004 debut, documents its expanding song structures, instrumentation and breadth of compositional strategies, which range from lush soundscapes to duos and trios of Leone-like abstraction.

Musicians: Nick Broste (trombone), Greg Danek (bass), David McDonnell (alto saxophone, clarinet), Patrick Newbery (trumpet), Dylan Ryan (drums, vibraphone, piano) with John Beard (guitar), Andra Kulans (viola)

Herculaneum was formed in 2002, and features veteran members of the Chicago jazz, improvised music, and experimental rock communities. The three-horn front line includes trombonist Nick Broste, trumpeter Patrick Newbery, and saxophonist David McDonnell. All three active participants in the Chicago improvised music community, Broste has performed with Jim Baker, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Dave Rempis and recorded with the likes of Archer Prewitt, Chris Mills and has currently, with Newbery, recorded with Wilco and spent time touring with Head of Femur. Equally busy alto saxophonist David McDonnell completes the triumvirate. McDonnell currently plays in the heavy psych duo Michael Columbia with percussionist Dylan Ryan, also of Icy Demons and Orso. Ryan and bassist Greg Danek take the role of rhythm section.

"What began as an opportunity for drummer-composer Dylan Ryan to explore his love of Beefheartian convulsion has developed into something much more sophisticated and accessible. The band's trombone/trumpet/alto sax front line paints lush chordal sketches remniscent of classical composer Oliver Messiaen and Miles Davis collaborator Gil Evans, while the piano-less rhythm section provides roiling support worthy of John Zorn's Masada." Ben Taylor, Time Out Chicago


"Drummer Dylan Ryan and bassist Greg Danek carve out loose, loping grooves and are flexible enough to turn on a dime or drop in sudden accents...Trombonist Nick Broste and Trumpeter Patrick Newbery (both regular collaborators with Head of Femur) along with saxophonist David McDonnell (who plays with Ryan in the arty electronic duo Michael Columbia), blend precise execution with relaxed phrasing, and thier melodically rich improvisations move freely over the rhythms like they're bouncing on a trampoline." Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader


"...Herculaneum sounds like a jazz-rock horn section that wandered far off the pop music reservation. The ensemble play is agile, with the horns executing tricky passages that veer from 20th century art music to cartoon soundtracks; from bebop to the big top. Yet these sharp stylistic turns never seem merely willful attempts to throw the listener off-balance." David DuPont, One Final Note