Spontanea Cooks Free Improv Magic with Quintaphonic

In early 2020, just before the pandemic lockdown hit, Spontanea released its second album, Chromasonic, and exploration of synesthesia. The free improv collective has now released a companion album on Right Brain Records, called Quintaphonic. Again joined by cellist James Hoskins, Spontanea continues its exploration of sound. The original four are back as well: Kenny Mandell (sax, flute, percussion), Matt Benham (guitar, effects), Carol J Levin (harp, percussion) and Scott Schaffer (bass, mandola). Preview the album here.

All six of the album’s pieces were recorded live in the studio. These tracks highlight the sheer diversity of Spontanea’s sounds, from the meditative “Inverted Rainbow,” to the mini-epic “Svaha,” to the incendiary Mandell-Hoskins duet “Dos Espadas,” to the freewheeling Levin-Benham-Schaffer trio, “Tres Olas.” Hear samples here.

Quintaphonic features the surrealist cover art of Ellie Polk. (See her Chromasonic cover below.)

Spontanea hopes to be back in business in Seattle soon. Until then, read more about the group and link to their sounds here.