Gongmaster Karen Stackpole and contrabassist Bill Noertker have been exploring inner and outer space through improvised musical dialogue for over a decade. Their new album, Talking Frog, conjures the world of the cosmic amphibian as they coax a soundscape of trills, chirps, screams, barks, grunts, clucks, croaks, bellows, and hoots from their respective instruments.
Karen Stackpole is a Paiste endorsed gong artist. She has been involved in the Bay Area music scene for over three decades as a drummer and percussionist with a keen penchant for metals. In her explorations of metals, she has cultivated some distinctive techniques for drawing harmonics out of her assemblage of gongs with various implements: rubber mallets, felt and yarn mallets, ball chains, bass and cello bows, kitchen utensils, and other small objects.
Bill Noertker is a composing and improving bassist who has been active in the Bay Area jazz and avant-garde scene since the late 1980s. He is best known for leading his own ensemble, Noertker's Moxie, as a forum for his compositions inspired by visual art.
credits
released May 3, 2022
Improvisations by
Karen Stackpole – gongs
Bill Noertker – contrabass
Karen Stackpole plays Paiste metals
recorded live to 2-track by Derek Heming
at the SIMM Series in San Francisco, CA
Mastered by Myles Boisen
at The Headless Buddha Mastering Lab
Graphic design by Gert Rude Music
Cover art by Jekyll
Produced by Bill Noertker
Executive producer – Rent Romus
This record has such a magical flow to it, it seems to capture so directly the ups and downs of life, the joy of music and dance, and it's just so damn catchy and fun to listen to as well. Giles
Post-jazz, indie rock, modern classical, and hip-hop come together on the Oakland multi-instrumentalist's new, desert-inspired LP. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 22, 2022