JOE O’CONNOR’S ‘COVERT FREQUENCIES’ – Debut

Covert Frequencies explores the untapped potential of the grouping of James McLean (drums), Joe O’Connor (piano) and Pat Thiele (trumpet), which had its first and only outing as the Pat Thiele Trio many many moons ago. After a hiatus of over a decade, Joe has reformed the group with the addition of Dan Mamrot (electric bass) to develop original music that is lyrical and cerebral in equal measure. The repertoire indulges a lingering nostalgia for lush post-bop poetics of 90s jazz ballads, offset by a healthy dose of modernist navel gazing, rhythmic elusiveness and tangential references to partido alto and montuno. Expect angles and soft edges in compositions by 2013 National Jazz Award winner Joe O’Connor and 2016 Freedman Fellow James McLean.