The Promise Of Escape
New Focus, 2026
9/10
Listen to The Promise Of Escape
The percussionist Michael Jones assembles 3 works by the composers Pluto Bell, Nicholas Deyoe and Scott Wollschleger that embraces sensitivity, timbre and the colorful aspects of the expressive world.
Bell’s “A Moment Or Two” opens with cautious percussion, where bells, bowls, plates and crotales are complemented by glockenspiel bars with a distinct timbral expression that gets meditative.
“Lullaby”, by Deyoe, follows with drums, woodblocks, glockenspiel and cymbals that emit a harmonic quality amid that has the ability to get haunting and ritualistic in its meticulous nature.
Wollschleger’s “trace-escape-horizon” exits, and offers sonic meditation thanks to the strategic vibraphone, where white noise, intimate textures and high pitched gestures mesmerize us for the 36+ minutes.
A highly intricate effort that is consistently evolving, Jones spends just over an hour enlightening us with his atypical take on contemporary classical via percussive prowess that few others could emulate.
Travels well with: Eric Chasalow- …arching, reaching, breathless; Lei Liang- Six Seasons: Instrumentation Lab