The sax is brought into an entirely different light and focus as Drew Whiting plays baritone, tenor and soprano saxes in a wide variety of settings teamed with various electronics. What could have been a self-indulgent study of cacophony results in a wonderful art gallery of colors and moods.
For instance, “Saudade Study” melds Whiting’s ethereal toned tenor with Brian Eno-inspired electronics to create rich ambient textures, while Hitchcockian shadows get dramatic on the tense and edgy “ In Lights Starkly Different”. Whiting’s baritone is thick and gurgling, howling and shrieking like a mammal trying to escape from the Tarp Pits on the pulsating “Break” while on soprano we get dreamy pastorals as in a Vaughan-Williams pieces during “As Brightness Is Smeared Into Memory”. A meeting akin to David Murray with STOMP takes place with a snappy tenor and trash can sounding percussion juxtaposing on “Otzi” while textures of reeds reminiscent of a Glazunov sax quartet gone awry are texturally delivered on the wonderfully maniacal “Random Access”. Each song has it’s own worldview and palate of colors, with the electronics making organic sense, although different each time. I’ve GOT to see this guy in concert with this “Flux Capacitor” of accompaniment!