Continuing the Groovy Monday wave with another piece that is meant to wake you up for the fresh energy and opportunities of the new week. I sincerely hope you’ll dive into the magnificent vibe of this composition, recharging and experiencing the feeling of freedom, encoded in this fantastic piece!
Duke Ellington famously referred to “cicadas in the tropical night” to illustrate that music is all around us, and cicadas continue to influence what we conceive of as music. New Orleans based bassist Quinn Sternberg embraces this ‘one mind’ concept with his flowing, ultra-melodic compositions on “Cicada Song”, accompanied by musicians who seem to think and act in accordance with unspoken guidelines, playing together with the ease of communication found in that natural insect phenomenon.
While listening to actual cicadas out in the tropical Louisiana night, Quinn realized they were singing in 7/4. After transcribing the rhythm he heard, the US musician wrote a melody that sounds like cicadas dancing, chirping, and celebrating their brief foray into the world between 17-year snoozes. While interlocking rhythms between Charlie Ballantine’s guitar and Sam Taylor’s saxophone represent the foreground cicadas, Oscar Rossignoli’s piano and Quinn’s bass respond with complimentary figures that play the part of background cicadas. The result is much like the natural sounds of the insects, an undulating wave with effortless highs and breathless lows.
This is the first single from an upcoming album, called Cicada Songs, so stay tuned.