Greg Sinibaldi
Voices
Self-Released
Over the past two years, with a sonic palette of saxophones, electronics, vocals, and a custom-programmed EWI, Seattle saxophonist and composer Greg Sinibaldi has been putting together a collection of solo compositions to create his new densely textured album, Voices. At times ambient, and at others maximally experimental, the searching Sinibaldi brings us into a carefully constructed world.
Voices is supplemented by visual compositions offering surrealist landscapes of Sinbaldi’s interpretation of the music. The audio alone leaves plenty of tasty room for the imagination to wander. Headphones recommended. Each composition begins with a celestial synthetic bed, developing patiently with nuanced layers that seemingly weave together partitions of a cosmic self. Sinibaldi’s phrasing often feels in time with one’s own natural breathing. It’s enjoyable to approach the pieces as if they are their own independent meditations, rather than listening straight through, to allow each track to settle.
The electronic-laced soprano sax in “He’s Calling” gently leads us into a quiet, cavernous subterranean lake drenched in the reverberation of peaceful voices and the tone of Sinibaldi’s gorgeous tenor sax. Shortly after, Sinibaldi brings back his soprano sax and abrasively compounds indiscernible lyrics to hold us at an edge of dissonance, until we are reminded once again of the breath in the music, and are led softly back to a contemplative state of mind.
The Painted Faces” starts with EWI phrasing and then proceeds to power forward with the distorted, maxed-out vocals of Sinibaldi and his bari sax. To reach a higher intensity, Sinibaldi applies contact mics to his bari and records sequences of the sax’s keys closing against the horn to create a fantastic percussive propulsion. Amongst the turbulence, we are swallowed by the crashing waves of a digitally compressed ocean and washed ashore, left to find our own serenity.
–Bryan Lineberry
