1. Intro (0:19)
2. Apple road (Rae) 3:10
3. From here to there (Rae) 5:26
4. Say it with a smile (Rae) 3:54
5. Tak a minute (Rae) 1:12
6. The Expanse (Wilcock) 3:29
7. Tritone (Rae) 2:31
8. Splendid Isolation (Rae) 5:07
9. Archie's ramble (Wilcock) 2:41
10. Yes (Rae) 2:16
11. Position normal (Rae/Wilcock/Bleakley) 6:07
12. Together (Rae) 4:34
13. Esperar (Wilcock) 3:05
14. Brainiac (Wilcock) 4:30
15. Daddy what did YOU do in the war? (Rae) 3:39
Award winning composers and musicians John Rae and Ben Wilcock have produced a stunning 14 song collaboration of original material. Joined by the celebrated New Zealand bassist, Patrick Bleakley the album has been described as "beguiling" (PBS, The Modernist)
Featuring guest artists Scottish guitarist Kevin Murray, former Black Seeds Irish based saxophonist Jabin Ward and multi instrumentalist Daniel Yeabsley, this is jazz for the 21st Century. Ebbing and flowing between chaos and beauty this album will take the listener to places they never expected. A truly unique take on contemporary jazz.
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John Rae - drums
Ben Wilcock - piano
Patrick Bleakley - bass
Dan Yeabsley - sax and bass (track 8)
Jabin Ward - sax (track 13 )
Kevin Murray - guitar (tracks 8, 13, 14)
Recorded by Benni Kruger and Lorenzo Bhune at Sandbox Studio, Wellington 2022
Mastered by Kevin Murray
Thick Records NZ 015
"Bold and stylistically varied” - The Modernist, PBS FM
"A rare breed of pianist, this album is a glory" - Jazz Scene, UK
"Wilcock is an engaging pianist and composer. At times his playing brings to mind Thelonious Monk, particularly in the faster bop tracks” - London Jazz News
“Wilcock’s extreme eclecticism runs from vigorous, sometimes minimalist, free improvisations to rhapsodic solos which will be deeply attractive to the average listener” - Eric Meyers, The Australian
“Throughout, there is highly creative intergalactic listening to be had here, which was particularly enjoyable on the vinyl I played” - Barry O’Sullivan, Fine Music Sydney
Jazz and Sci-Fi don’t typically mix - In his latest release ‘The River Tethys’, Wilcock breaks away from conventionality in his most contemporary project to date through an eclectic mix of harmonic centers and brave improvisation
The album is based on the characters and worlds from the celebrated sci-fi novel series 'Hyperion Cantos' by Dan Simmons.
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The vinyl album was released on August 13th 2021 and features unique compositions by Wilcock, who is joined by award winning drummer John Rae, violinist Tristan Carter and Dan Yeabsley on double bass.
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Each track on ‘The River Tethys’ is based on different unique worlds explored by protagonists within the sci-novel.
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Wilcock launched ‘The River Tethys’ during The Wellington Jazz Festival at the iconic music venue Meow
The first single 'Aenea' was released on Spotify May 21st 2021 and the full album is available on CD and Vinyl from Thick Records NZ
PREVIOUS RELEASES
ABOUT BEN
Ben Wilcock is a pianist and composer from Hamilton, NZ. Ben began his career as 'on stage pianist' in the award winning show 'The Pickle King' (Indian ink) which won multiple awards including a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
After an extended period playing in the UK Ben returned to NZ to perform and record with Bella Kalolo, including her Without the Paper and Time and Space releases, with performances at Glastonbury, Java Jazz, Sydney Arts Festival and New York's Ella lounge and Rockwood Music Hall. During this time he also toured with Aaradnha, Louis Baker and more recently with American Blues legend Chris Cain.
His trio The Jelly Rolls have performed at Jazz festivals including the Edinburgh Jazz festival, the Wellington Jazz festival and the Tauranga Jazz festival. 2019 included a tour of Scotland,
Ben has released two albums with The Jelly Rolls - Sneaky Weasel (2014) and The Phantom Canoe (2017) as well as 'A short history of Jazz, the 1930s' for Radio New Zealand.
In 2020 he released 'Goodnight T.V', a solo piano album.
In 2021 he released 'The River Tethys' on ltd edition vinyl, receiving 5 star reviews and international air play.
His latest work is a 15 song collaboration with John Rae called 'Splendid Isolation'. The album features Scottish guitarist Kevin Murray, Irish based kiwi saxophonist Jabin Ward and Wellingtonian multi instrumentalist Dan Yeabsley.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/splendid-isolation-john-rae
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