Search - 9 Horses :: Perfectest Herald

Anything you do creatively is autobiographical. And catharsis is built into any creative act.

Composer and mandolin player Joseph Brent knows how to reinvest emotion harvested from heartbreak. The exquisite music that he composed for the ensemble 9 Horses new release Perfectest Herald provides an aural storyboard of sorrow and renewal, making his own words ring true.

Brent is a master mandolin player, who plays a custom-built 10-string instrument by luthier Brian Dean. He has been featured playing classical music with numerous orchestras and popular and improvised music with a number of artists, including Regina Spektor, Stephane Grappelli and Alan Ferber.

As stories are best recalled by their writers, Brent is also a member of the 9 Horses ensemble, whose name comes from a Billy Collins poem that uses the metaphor of a simple gift as a key to a deep emotional bond. Naturally, ensembles are built through relationships. Brent met bassist Shawn Conley through a mutual acquaintance, and based on Conley s amazing facility and musicality, as he is equally versed in jazz and classical music, Conley quickly became a member of Brent s working ensemble.

Brent became acquainted with the extraordinary improvising violinist Sara Caswell when they performed together at Carnegie Hall. Caswell has become one of the leading lights of creative violin playing, as well as a highly sought collaborative partner with the likes of Roseanna Vitro and Esperanza Spalding. Their musical kinship led to duo performances, an EP release, and the eventual formation of 9 Horses, an unusual string trio that finds influence in jazz, roots, indie rock and classical music.

The intent of the ensemble was to use their three humble acoustic instruments to communicate large ideas and emotions, once again imbibing the ethos of Collins, taking simple things and finding a grandeur in them. The trio does this with aplomb, as the music they make is filled with energy, heart and empathy.

The title of the album stems from Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing, the Bard eliciting the speechless elation of Claudio in receiving Beatrice s hand. The title is also the name of a four-part suite that is the centerpiece of the album.