MORPHIUS RECORDS IS PLEASED TO PRESENT
QUARTET OFFENSIVE
“Carnivore” CD
“More than just a casual collaboration, Quartet Offensive is
a crucible for new composition and a mutual admiration
society of accomplished players.” - NPR’s “The Signal”
Description
Like the city this Baltimore quintet calls home, Quartet Offensive is a band bursting
with musical innovation, experimentation and character, whose music exists
between the cracks of jazz, rock and the avant-garde. It is a band whose unique style
freely crosses genre boundaries, and one that succeeds in presenting an honest
musical vision, due in large part to their firm roots in improvisational performance.
Artist: Quartet Offensive
Title: Carnivore
Cat# QOFF-001
Format: CD
Price: $6.99 distro / $7.49 store
Street Date: 7/14/09
Barcode: 613285907829
TRACKLIST:
1. The Dirty Dollar
2. Yo Banana Boy
3. Heavy-Light
4. The Sheep Ate the Flower
5. Goodbye, Cavendish
6. O.D.
7. Jelly
8. The M.B.S.
RIYL: John Zorn, Nels Cline, The
Bad Plus, Mike Patton, King
Crimson
DISTRIBUTED BY
MORPHIUS RECORDS, Inc.
100 E. 23rd St. Baltimore, MD 21218
www.morphius.com
410-662-0112 tel. 410-662-0116 fax
[email protected], distro rep: [email protected]
For best pricing order direct from Morphius or through
SDID/Super D (toll free) 866-666-1170, or through fine
independent distributors such as Revolver, CTP and Cargo
Originally a quartet of John Dierker (bass clarinet), Matt Frazao (guitar), Adam
Hopkins (bass), and Nathan Ellman-Bell (drums), QO later added Eric Trudel (saxophone). Quartet Offensive has drawn both local and national attention, having
been featured on NPR’s “The Signal,” as well as being hailed as “a lineup of musicians nothing short of virtuosic..First-class improvisation. A mix of time-tested
Baltimore weirdness paired with wet-behind-the-ears energy.” (Baltimore City
Paper). During their brief career together since forming in 2007, they’ve already
shared bills with living legends Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Dave Ballou, Jack
Wright, and Lafayette Gilchrist.
Their debut release Carnivore features compositions by three of the band’s five
members and finds QO exploring a broad spectrum of styles. Be it the heavy rockinspired pieces of bassist Adam Hopkins (The Dirty Dollar, The M.B.S., O.D.), the
narrative soundscapes created by guitarist Matt Frazao (The Sheep Ate the
Flower, Yo Banana Boy), the weighty, introspective works of saxophonist Eric
Trudel (Heavy-Light), or the album’s two ballads (Jelly, Goodbye Cavendish) each
piece showcases the powerful voices and cutting edge approach of QO’s individual members, while keeping the group’s fabric as its primary concern.
Quartet Offensive never plays the same show twice, making each one uniquely
exciting, and “Carnivore” was recorded live @ Lord Baltimore Recording Studio
(Beach House, Celebration, Arbouretum) using similar methodology. Tracked with
no edits over a 24-hour period, the album expertly re-creates QO’s live energy, but
with the high-quality audio of a studio session. The result is a convincing mixture
of forward-thinking composition, conservatory virtuosity, and Baltimore’s
improv-scene strangeness.
Selling Points
• Members of Q.O. have performed and recorded with jazz greats such as Gary Thomas,
Uri Caine, Paul Bollenback, George Garzone and Peter Kowald, and currently play in
such groups as Lafayette Gilchrist and the New Volcanoes, Soul Cannon, Panacea, Out
of Your Head Collective, Powerlunch, Microkingdom, and Subatomic Particles. Equally
at home in both jazz and rock venues, QO will be appearing throughout the U.S. in support of Carnivore this year.
• Carnivore was mastered by Michael Macdonald (Andrew Hill, Fred Hersch, Ahmad
Jamal, Charlie Haden, Ben Monder, et al) @ AlgoRhythms in Brooklyn, NY, and the innovative packaging was designed by talented artist Nick Prevas, magnificentlore.com.
• QO is substantially acclaimed in the artistic and academic community and received
grant funding for the completion of Carnivore from The Maryland State Arts Council,
Baker Artist Awards, and Peabody Conservatory.