“It’s less about whirlwind virtuosity than atmosphere, concocted from long tones, judicious use of musical space and silence, and intriguing musical choices” (Brett Campbell, Oregon Arts Watch)
Formed in early 2013, the duo of oboist Catherine Lee and percussionist Matt Hannafin explores a musical territory that marries the space and stillness of an austere New Music sensibility with the openness of free improvisation and the elemental power of world double-reed/percussion traditions.
In Summer 2015 they released their first recording Five Shapes: Improvisations for oboe d’amore and percussion.
Five Shapes is a suite of free improvisations for oboe d’amore and percussion that we recorded one late-summer afternoon at Hudson Concert Hall in Salem, Oregon. It is very much a document of that day, capturing the music as it happened, unedited and even untitled: Rather than influencing listeners’ perceptions by imposing titles after the fact, we wanted to simply present the music as shapes sculpted in time.