MandoMorphosis Returns After a 10-Year Hiatus
MandoMorphosis is a collaborative mandolin project best known for releasing a critically acclaimed CD, a mandolin extravaganza called 2010. That album, a freewheeling mixture of exploratory jazz, roots music and even a Chopin nocturne, featured seven players, all accomplished performers in their own speheres. Mandolin Magazine praised the “stunning collection of tunes… subtle musicality and virtuosic performances.” The album broke into the top tier of the Jambands Radio Charts that year, leapfrogging many better known artists.
After a gap of a decade, Right Brain Records is pleased to announce a fresh MandoMorphosis release, appropriately titled 2020.
It’s featured as one of two albums in the newest episode of the Right Brain Music Podcast.
MandoMorphosis 2010 was the product of several intense and wide-ranging sessions. Dusting off the original raw recordings, we uncovered some hidden treasures: extended free improv jams that capture spirited interplay among the group and several instrumental gems not included on the first album. There’s also one newly recorded track. These gems from the attic comprise the new record.
The digital album 2020 features the talents of Matt Sircely, Orville Johnson, Michael Connolly and David Tiller. Matt is a mandolin stylist best known for his work with Hot Club Sandwich, Danny Barnes and Jeff Scoggins plus his considerable talents as a songrwriter. Orville is something of a legend on the dobro, but equally fluent on mandolin and guitar, to say nothing of his distinctive singing voice. Michael is a skilled multi-instrumentalist, as is David, who has toured the world with his folk-jazz band Taarka. Read more about the group here.
Together, MandoMorphosis is incendiary, taking this modest 8-stringed instrument for a wild ride. We hear virtuosic soloing throughout. One essential element among the record’s seven tracks is “Shaken Waltz,” a sublime chamber trio penned by Matt. Another is an extended version of “Cascadia Raga,” a wild, spontaneous Indian-flavored improvisation spanning 12 and a half minutes. And there’s a haunting duet, “The Inquiry,” featuring special guest James Hoskins on cello and Scott Schaffer on mandola. The new record is less structured than the first, an ideal bookend that shows a second side of a rare collaboration. Hear the album .
You can also listen to the podcast, which includes a lengthy montage from 2020.
As a related aside, Matt Sircely’s songwriting talent was on display in a live National Public Radio broadcast just last week. Take a listen here.
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