


VISCERA
Released July 3rd, 2020
Brian Krock- alto saxophone, clarinet
Olli Hirvonen- guitar
Marty Kenney- bass
Steven Crammer- drum set
Recorded at Firehouse 12 by Greg DiCrosta
Mixed and mastered by Joe Branciforte at Greyfade Studio
“Viscera”- the second full-length recording from saxophonist and composer Brian Krock's working band, liddle- was recorded live at the venerated venue/recording studio Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut. Following the critical success of their first album, 2019’s liddle, Krock wanted to capture the telepathic, fiery interplay of the band in a live setting for their sophomore effort. “Those sets at Firehouse 12 were absolutely wild in terms of the energy in the room,” remembers Krock. “This album captures the sixteenth show of our first tour as a band, and we were equal parts exhausted and inspired.” Knowing that the band would have the all-but-unheard-of luxury of three weeks of warm-up gigs before the recording sessions, Krock felt comfortable writing his most challenging book of music to date. As complex and abstract as the music may be, it also reveals the emotive cohesion of a band on the road together- sleeping, eating, and breathing nothing but music for weeks on end.
The title track, “Viscera,” was inspired by the internal organs of the human body. While many theoreticians talk of the natural symmetry of the human body, Krock was interested in conveying the organic, uneven mess of intestines, pancreas, lungs, heart, and the like that live inside each of us. Drawing on the limitless talents of his longtime cohort Olli Hirvonen, Krock wrote an arpeggiated guitar part which stretches and contracts in surprising ways.
“Eyes beseeching, hands gagged” features a frenetic duo between Krock and the newest member of liddle, drummer Steven Crammer. Their fast 13/8 groove slowly dissolves into a chaotic mess, with sinewy shapes mirrored between guitar and alto saxophone.
Bassist Marty Kenney- also a member of Krock’s big band, Big Heart Machine- has no trouble navigating the constantly shifting irrational meters within “Nurturing a vulture (in my body).” This piece is an exploration of various gradations of swing at a sluggish tempo, with Kenney articulating extremely precise subdivisions of 5, 7, and 9 within the bands lilting triplet feel.
As the new compositions began to solidify on tour, the “old” tunes from Krock’s last record began to change in interesting ways. “This was due in large part to the new personnel and instrumental configuration,” says Krock, “but also because our night-to-night experimentations led to unforeseen musical territory.” So, Krock felt it was necessary to include live versions of two previously-recorded songs: “Saturnine” and Anthony Braxton’s “Composition no. 23b.” “Night after night, we tried tweaking elements of these pieces both large and small, and taking big chances, so that by the end of the tour, these pieces felt fresh and new.”


Live at The Jazz Gallery
released May 15, 2020
Brian Krock- conductor, composer/arranger
Charlotte Greve- alto saxophone, flute
Caroline Davis- alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
Timo Vollbrecht- tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
Anna Webber- tenor saxophone, alto flute, flute
Jay Rattman- baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
John Lake- trumpet, flugelhorn
Kenny Warren- trumpet, flugelhorn
Chloe Rowlands- trumpet, flugelhorn
Dave Adewumi- trumpet, flugelhorn
Nick Grinder- trombone
Sam Blakeslee- trombone
Isaac Kaplan- trombone
Jen Wharton- bass trombone
Olli Hirvonen- guitar
ArcoIris Sandoval- piano
Marty Kenney- bass
Nathan Ellman-Bell- drum set
Recorded October 31, 2019 at the Jazz Gallery, New York City
Tracks 1, 2, 5 composed by Brian Krock (BMI)
Track 3 composed by György Ligeti, arranged by Brian Krock
Track 4 composed by Molly McAdoo (BMI), arranged by Brian Krock
Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Matt Marantz
Video by Luke Marantz
Album artwork by Brian Krock


liddle
released April 26, 2019
Brian Krock- alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Olli Hirvonen- electric guitar
Matt Mitchell- piano, Fender rhodes
Simon Jermyn- 6-string electric bass (track 4), baritone guitar (track 9)
Marty Kenney- upright bass
Nathan Ellman-Bell- drum set
Produced by Brian Krock
Tracks 1-2, 4-6, 8-9 composed by Brian Krock, BMI
Track 3 composed by Olli Hirvonen, TEOSTO & Brian Krock, BMI
Track 7 composed by Anthony Braxton, Synthesis Music, BMI
Recorded by Michael Perez-Cisneros at Big Orange Sheep
Mixed and Mastered by Joseph Branciforte at Greyfade Studio
Album artwork and layout by David Foarde
Photography by Desmond White


Big Heart Machine
released August 24, 2018
Produced by Darcy James Argue
Recorded at by Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn on August 15 & 16, 2017
Mixed by Brian Montgomery
Mastered by Sangwook “Sunny” Nam at Jacob’s Well Mastering
All compositions by Brian Krock, BMI
Miho Hazama- conducter
Charlotte Greve- soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet, flute, sopranino recorder
Brian Krock- alto saxophone, clarinet, piccolo, flute, alto flute, soprano recorder
Timo Vollbrecht- tenor & soprano saxophones, clarinet, soprano recorder
Paul Jones- tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto recorder
Jay Ratmann- baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute, tenor recorder
John Lake- trumpet & flugelhorn
Nolan Tsang- trumpet & flugelhorn
Cody Rowlands- trumpet & flugelhorn
Kenny Warren- trumpet & flugelhorn
Nick Grinder- trombone
Chris Misch-Bloxdorf- trombone
Isaac Kaplan- trombone
Jennifer Wharton- bass trombone
Yuhan Su- vibraphone
ArcoIris Sandoval- piano & synthesizer
Olli Hirvonen- electric guitar
Marty Kenney- electric and upright bass
Josh Bailey- drums and percussion
With invaluable assistance from Peter Lenz, Adam Neely, and Molly McAdoo