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Frank O’Sullivan

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Frank O’Sullivan’s latest project is a quartet featuring Chris Vincent on trombone and keyboards, Emile Farley on electric bass, and Thomas Sauvé Lafrance on drums. This lineup of musicians was chosen for their established musical rapport, having worked together in various musical contexts as instrumentalists. Frank also wanted to work with these musicians to reflect some of his key influences, such as experimental music, modern classical music, psychedelic rock, and contemporary R&B.

Frank’s composition style encompasses a wide range of directions and techniques but almost always integrates improvisation, inspired by his studies of bebop and post-bop at Berklee. This project has its roots in these traditional forms but also takes great artistic freedom, drawing inspiration from more experimental and modern idioms. Some of the composers that Frank considers as guides for this project are artists like Charles Mingus, John Zorn, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. There is also a presence of modern classical influence in Frank’s music, as can be heard in his piece “Tintinnabuli.”

This composition is a “contrafact” of the first section of “Fratres” by Arvo Pärt. Pärt was a pioneer of a style of composition called Tintinnabuli, which is a branch of minimalism, utilizing symmetry and repetition.

For a sonic palette, this quartet draws heavily from modern styles found in popular music. The use of instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass, and synthesizers allows for a thorough exploration of sounds and effects commonly associated with psychedelic rock, shoegaze, and electronic music. To underscore and complement this, the sound of the trombone is also treated with effects such as reverb, delay, and harmonization.

Frank’s vision is to reflect with precision and honesty in his compositions, through his unique blend of influences stemming from his life experiences. His goal is to write music that elicits a powerful feeling in his audience, akin to his own feeling when deeply moved by the recording or performance of a masterpiece. With Beethoven, Coltrane, and Hendrix being his most important artistic influences, Frank is deeply aware of the relevance, importance, and spiritual power of music.

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More details