NEIL THORNOCK: “No Stopping, Standing or Parking ” – Sax Q./Ch. Ens. – Navona Records

NEIL THORNOCK: “No Stopping, Standing or Parking ” = No Stopping, Standing or Parking; Traptalk; Syncrasy; All the Goods Are Stolen; moon garden; Fractured Compound – U.S. Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet/Upland Chamber Ensemble /Brigham Young University ensemble – Navona Records NV5861 (Distr. by Naxos), 77:47 ****:
I love discovering engaging new music from unexpected sources. Neil Thornock is a very pleasant surprise with a gift with for quirky jazz inspired sounds. Thornock was born in Washington State in 1977. He received degrees in organ performance and composition from Brigham Young University and a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University. He is presently completing an opera about the Biblical figure Enoch, a saxophone work for Jeffrey Vickers, and a trombone quartet for the Utah Trombone Authority. Recently completed works include Plutoids for orchestra, Fractured Compound  for the U.S. Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet, and movements for piano with electronics. Neil Thornock is assistant professor of music composition and theory at Brigham Young University. Hence the other pleasant surprise. I usually do not think of contemporary chamber music coming out of BYU – a silly, unfounded assumption on my part. This new Navona disc features the saxophone music of Thornock and is fully entertaining and showcases excellent players very well.
The two “showcase” pieces in this collection are the two works written for the United States Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet (an ensemble I did not know about and with which I was very impressed!) The title work, No Stopping, Standing or Parking, is a jaunty, kinetic thrill ride for all players that captures the attention from the first syncopated bursts. As the title implies, there is a “city traffic” feel to this piece, evoking bumper to bumper gridlock with the occasional “horns” honking and a couple of moments of respite, in a bluesy tone, as if the players are distracted by some architectural wonder that slows the pace. This is a very neat work! So, for that matter is Fractured Compound, also written for the USCG Quartet.  Fractured Compound is also the longest work on the disc at nineteen plus minutes. This work also contains much of the jazzy, accented, frenetic nature of the first work but the harmonic language is just a bit more abstract – ‘fractured’ as it were. These two works are solid additions to the saxophone quartet repertory and the Coast Guard Quartet plays with a tight ensemble sound, great tone quality and ample technique!
Traptalk for alto saxophone and harpsichord is inherently interesting for such a seemingly bizarre combination but the work succeeds on being quirky; a bit bizarre. Adam McCord, saxophonist, is accompanied by the composer and the duo plays a bouncy strangely compelling series of rhythms with runs and leaps in the sax echoed by the harpsichord. Alto saxophone has great capacity for sounding a little other worldly and Thornock’s use of harpsichord helps greatly to give this piece a really entertaining, if bizarre, sound (in an almost Danny Elfman way).
Syncrasy is a two movement work for soprano saxophone soloist playing against prerecorded sound components. This work stands out in its uniqueness from everything else on the album. The first movement “Helix” is an almost New Age reflection, sounding very churchlike in sections, very mysterious in others. The chord progressions and ambient sounds move slowly and beautifully. “Clunk”, however, makes more use of the metal sounds (like bells, gongs, etc) and the saxophone line has an almost gamelan quality to it. This very unusual, but appealing, work is very well performed by classical saxophonist Paul Tucker.
All the Goods Are Stolen is another catchy, jazz inspired work for alto saxophone, tenor saxophone and piano. There is an “urban” feel to this, much as there was in No Stopping, Standing or Parking. In a way, this work has a lot of forward momentum and just a bit of melodrama that I found just a bit reminiscent of an old film noir score. This is also a very attractive work that fills a niche in a somewhat sparse category. The Upland Chamber Ensemble players here do a very fine job. Lastly, the oddly titled moon garden shows, again, Thornock’s quieter pensive side. This pretty little duet for flute and alto saxophone opens with an almost Copland-esque calm. The mood never really changes too drastically and the feel of peace or desolation (like on the moon, perhaps?) is maintained with only small bursts of rhythmic awakening. This work, too, is very nice and fills another void in the all too few duets for this combination. Flutist Amanda Baker and Joshua Thomas, saxophone, play beautifully and with the required sense of eerie solace.
I would certainly like to hear more music from Neil Thornock. I really think that all saxophonists would love this disc and want to get the scores to partake in the fun. I also think, though, that any listener would appreciate the creativity and energy found in these works!
—Daniel Coombs