Wend
Artist: Joshua Stamper
www.joshuastamper.bandcamp.com
Self-released - Sounds Familyre family of artists
10 tracks/48:50

Every so often an artist bravely steps out of the box to produce a unique and surprising project - that's exactly what Josh Stamper has done with Wend, a stunning blend of modern jazz and chamber music. Using mostly acoustic instruments (I might be hearing an electric guitar part on occasion), Stamper sets up simple melodies, usually stated by cello, double bass or guitar, and adds layers of more and more complex counter-melodies, often decorated by jazzy woodwind solos.  The combination of violins, cello, and double bass provides a modern string quartet texture for the flute, sax, and clarinet to interact with, producing an effect that has the warmth of an intimate string recital combined with the 'cool' of a jazz club.

The captivating "Soft Shoe," with its inviting flute/string interplay, starts the album off with a sonic ambiance that sometimes brings to mind Frank Zappa's early experiments with a small orchestra on his 1967 release, Lumpy Gravy, although the jazzier, more intimate nature of the performances place it closer to Charlie Peacock's recent jazz projects, Love Press Ex-Curio and even more so, Peacock's collaboration with Jeff Coffin, Arc of the Circle. Stamper has great fun with unusual harmony lines and interesting timings throughout the seven-minute opener, which features rhythmic, bass-driven passages next to gentle, pastoral moments.

"Lagos" is a sleepier tune - more somber in mood, with long violin lines stretching out over a repeating four-note riff, lightly peppered with percussion and joined by low-key woodwinds. Sax and flute state the playful melody of "Jungle Jim," a kind-of fractured waltz supported by guitar and bass. The sax and flute improvise energetically, with the sax suggesting a bit of "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" near the end of the track.

The multi-part "Hustlebustle" is next, with an electric guitar introduction followed by the addition of several layers of instruments and a strong recurring string passage that bears a slight resemblance to Zappa's "Uncle Meat Variations." This is an ambitious piece and, like this whole album in general, is engaging and infectious.

Next is the mysterious-sounding "Clay," followed by the slow, melodic, "Riffle," featuring the guitar and the string section most prominently, occasionally joined by the woodwinds.

One of the album's showpieces is next - "How Thy Desires 'Ere Have Been." Although there are no vocals on Wend, this song is best known by the sung lyrics, "Praise to The Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation." Being the only song with a melody that will be instantly recognized (Stamper is the composer of all of the other tracks), the song illustrates the brilliance of Stamper's arrangements, placing the familiar melody in unconventional settings and bringing a different, fresh kind of beauty out of what otherwise might be thought of as a beautiful yet _overly- familiar_ tune. Stamper plays with a bit of dissonance but also dresses the melody with sweet string parts that almost sound like Hal Roach house-composer Leroy Shield's more pastoral moments.

Of the three remaining pieces, "Constance," the delightfully quirky "One Swell Foop," and "Psalm 131,"  it's "Foop" that stands out for creativity and inventiveness and "Psalm 131" that provides a suitably warm and soothing coda, with the strings accompanying the gentle guitar melody and woodwinds joining in at the end.

Stamper manages to combine the jazz and light classical elements so well that you almost forget that there's what might be a rock guitarist, albeit a quirky one, under those instruments most of the time. The melodies are spare but flexible and the percussion is more orchestral than rhythmic, and there's a definite sense of adventure to the project.  On a smaller scale, but similarly ambitious as BQE, Sufjan Stevens' recent orchestral work, Wend is an instrumental album that will appeal to the musically adventurous and open minded - of course that's you, or you wouldn't be reading this far down the page. Erica Miller played violin, Ryan Murphy played cello, Rex Surany played double bass, Kristopher Allen provided alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and marimba, Michael Cemprola played flute and clarinet, Rogerio Boccato provided percussion, and Joshua Stamper played guitar and composed the music. Wend can be downloaded through www.joshuastamper.bandcamp.com
, where you can also hear samples of this unique and engaging music.
 

By Bert Saraco
www.myspace.com/expressimage
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