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
PREVIOUS RELEASES
"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
ABOUT BEN
"Bold and stylistically varied” - PBS FM
"A rare breed of pianist" - 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
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Ben Wilcock is a New Zealand pianist and composer. After years of working as a session musician Ben dedicated his musical output to jazz. Forming Thick Records NZ with John Rae in 2014, he released ‘Sneaky Weasel’. Since then he has released five albums as a leader. The latest release is Splendid Isolation, a 14 song collaboration of original material with John Rae.
With his 2021 release ‘The River Tethys’, Wilcock broke away from conventionality through an eclectic mix of harmonic centres and brave improvisation The album is based on the characters and worlds from the sci-fi novel series 'Hyperion Cantos' by Dan Simmons. Each track on ‘The River Tethys’ is based on different unique worlds explored by protagonists within the sci-novel.
Ben has also released two albums with The Jelly Rolls - Sneaky Weasel (2014) and The Phantom Canoe (2017)
In 2020 he released 'Goodnight T.V', a solo piano album.
All available at:
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