The Spokes: Not So Fast
Released in 2011 via Strudelmedia
The Spokes is a trio of three composer/instrumentalists: Andy Biskin (clarinet), Curtis Hasselbring (trombone) and Phillip Johnston (soprano saxophone). Each contributes compositions to this collaborative trio which combines jazz and chamber music.
“The group’s witty, seamless sound draws from Jimmy Giuffre’s trios (acting like a stripped-down version of Johnston’s Microscopic Septet) as well as baroque styles, klezmer, minimalism, Aaron Copland’s heartland music and early brass bands. Some of the tunes have fictional/historical components, like Biskin’s “Lady Baltimore,” which suggests a meeting of the minuet and West Side Story, and his minimalism-dappled “Wiesinski,” about a ruthless Eastern European entrepreneur. But even when not telling stories, the band has imagination to burn.”
–Lloyd Sachs, Jazz Times