The Anton Webern Project [CD]

John O'Gallagher is a Grammy award-winning alto saxophonist who is known as one of the most compelling improvisers, composers and music conceptualists at work today on the avant-jazz scene. This ambitious project features his seven-piece contemporary jazz ensemble, showcasing many of the most respected creative jazz musicians on the global music scene.

The California native has released many critically acclaimed albums to date but it's this ambitious project which shows his diverse talents pushed to new and exciting limits. This recording features groundbreaking reworks and adaptations of the music of Anton Webern, the Austrian composer known for his innovations in twelve-tone technique and the musical movement known as 'Serialism'.

With just one hearing of the album the listener is transported into a sound-world unlike anything they've heard before as a result of O'Gallagher's masterfully conceived vision which morphs the improvising jazz musician with the music pioneered by the Second Viennese School. The Anton Webern Project is a true testament to the seemingly limitless spirit of the ever-searching and evolving improvising musician, and will surely be regarded as a vital addition to the advancement and appreciation of Webern and twelve-tone music.

Personnel: John O'Gallagher (alto saxophone), Matt Moran (vibraphone), Pete McCann (guitar), Russ Lossing (Hammond organ, Rhodes, piano), Johannes Weidenmuller (double bass), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), Margret Grebowicz (voice)