Sunship preview by Peter Monaghan

Is That Jazz? Sunship preview by Peter Monaghan in the January 2010 Earshot Jazz magazine:

Taking its name from the album on which John Coltrane truly headed into outer orbits, this quintet has a good dose of all the things that matter – drive, flair, great imagination, nuance… You’ll probably be well aware of the inimitable Stuart Dempster, trombone master and conch-shell conjurer, long-ago North American pioneer of the didgeridoo, and grand vizier of open-eared and open-hearted sound. With him here is the stellar saxophonist Michael Monhart, a player steeped in musical traditions of the world. Sunship’s rhythm section – drummer David Revelli and electric bassist Andrew Luthringer – drives, thrusts, and anchors, while slashing and searing through the whole is the ridiculously too-little-acclaimed Brian Heaney, as fine a guitarist as any in the city, regardless of genre. This is an “intergalectric” ensemble that will reset your controls

Sunship in Is That Jazz? 2010 this Friday

Sunship is honored to perform in Is That Jazz?, Seattle's avant-jazz festival this Friday evening at 8pm at The Chapel Performance Space in the Good Shepard Center in Wallingford (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N, Seattle; SW corner of 50th & Sunnyside).

Admission is $15 general $10 student/senior and all ages are welcome.

Learn more about Is That Jazz? here.

Sunship and Stuart Dempster nominated for Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Awards

Sunship, has been nominated for an Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Award (Emerging Artist, 2009 NW Alternative Jazz and 2009 NW Concert of the Year). Stuart Dempster of Sunship has also been nominated to Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame.

Consider voting for all of your favorite Seattle jazz musicians (a link to the ballot is below). And, come out for the Golden Ear award ceremony on February 15th at The Triple Door.

Ballot and details here: http://earshot.org/Events/golden.html

Stuart Dempster plays in 'In C' at Carnegie Hall

Stuart is in the back center in the photo above. (New York Times photo)

Read the review here.

Sunship New Year's Day Party

Happy 2009, Everyone!

Sunship at The Chapel, July 2008

Signal to Noise CD Review by Tom Djll

Tom Djll - Signal To Noise—Spring/2008 issue. http://www.signaltonoisemagazine.org/

Sunship
Sunship- Sunship Music CD-R
From the ashes of the late Seattle band Stinkhorn rises Sunship, a solid post-fusion outfit that draws directly on some of the top-shelf jazz of the seventies: electric Miles, Ornette’s Prime Time, Sonny Sharrock, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Though it seems to be a co-op effort, saxophonist Michael Monhart contributes most of the compositions here, the first of which, “Spotless Pots,” takes cues from dirges like “Alabama” and “Lonely Woman.” Monhart’s tenor and Stuart Dempster’s trombone make a lovely sound together, limning this hymn of downtrodden-ness. “Moonlight” strikes a similar mood with its mournful melody, backed this time with dissonant, droning shades straight out of the Get Up with It playbook. Guitarist Brian Heaney contributes two tunes, “Psalm X,” which would seem to pay homage (in title, anyway) to O.C., but which rolls and roars more like Ornette’s disciple Shannon Jackson and his Decoding Society. Dave Revelli’s drums and Andrew Luthringer’s e-bass weave a richly textured polyrhythmic carpet (awesomely recorded by Doug Haire). Trickster Dempster lays out, except for the heads and a short squeaky-toy solo, a little off-mic—which may be just as well. Heaney’s other piece, “Ufology,” peels back your scalp and prods some burning alien implants into your cranium … too bad it all ends so soon! The album closes with another dirge, this one improvised---the tightest of the three improves on the disc. While it may not transcend it’s influence’s, this Sunship flies high and burns brightly on it’s maiden voyage.