Message In Motion is a recording that can be gainfully approached from a number of angles. You can choose to play it in a single sitting from start to finish, taking in an array of moods evoked by bassist Peter Brendler’s seven compositions and a band worthy of his exemplary skills as a writer. (The record also includes selections penned by Duke Ellington, Elliott Smith, and Alice Coltrane.) ...Read More

Another winner from the left coast’s Posi-Tone: consider it a Message In Motion by Peter Brendler where six of the tracks feature no chords whatsoever as it’s Brendler’s bass augmented by Rich Perry’s tenor sax, the trumpet of Peter Evans and Vinnie Sperazza with the type of kinetic drumming that continually moves the music forward. Brendler wrote eight of 10 and his comp ...Read More

Having made his bones with his John Abercrombie duet, the bass ace pioneers a new jazz genre, free jazz for white people. Not as madly careening as classic civil rights jazz, Brendler’s vision has it own moves and makes it own rules madly teasing the ears of honkies not all that in love with straight lines. Well conceived wild stuff for those looking for a wild ride. CHRIS SPECTOR – MI ...Read More

On his excellent debut outing for Positone, bassist Peter Brendler got arguably upstaged by the intrigue inherent to the frontline pairing of tenorist Rich Perry and trumpeter Peter Evans. With Message in Motion much of the novelty has worn off, replaced by a full embrace of the confidence that comes from two players who share an encyclopedic command of their respective instruments. Vinnie Sperraz ...Read More

New York bassist Peter Brendler has been a rising figure in the city’s jazz mainstream for the past decade or so. He recently released Message in Motion (Posi-Tone), his second album as a leader (not counting a 2013 duo recording with guitarist John Abercrombie, The Angle Below). It’s another knockout, working solidly within postbop orthodoxy while pushing against its strictures, than ...Read More

Jazz full frame. It is right on target with this strong team of aggressive and inventive musicians able to revive the colors of the modern swing. After Outside The Line (Posi-Tone, 2014), bassist Peter Brendler maintains the same quartet without harmonic instrument to propose a music with clear lines: two soloists and a rhythm section. Classic you might say, of course, but with a few blowers duo P ...Read More

It’s no secret that as a listener and review, I’m drawn to the work of the rhythm section. Not that I don’t appreciate a great saxophonist or guitarist but it’s the response and the interaction with the people keeping the flow going that often catches my ears first. “Message In Motion” is bassist and composer Peter Brendler‘s second release for Posi-Tone R ...Read More