Borderlands

Following the stunning debut album "Asteroida", the New York trio Borderlands with Stephan Crump, Kris Davis and Erc McPherson releases a double CD with four improvisations which range in length from just twenty to over forty minutes. Recorded during the Corona pandemic in New York in December 2020, the music contrasts the New York mood of isolation with an uncommon passion for playing, intensity and musical intimacy.

Chicago/Berlin jazz critic Peter Margasak writes in the liner notes, "The works float, roil, swing, breathe, rush and sparkle without ever revealing any sort of hesitation or falling into a rut. The musicians don't follow one another and they eschew glib reaction. Instead, they sit down with the flowing ideas, thinking ahead about where the music should go. The play along with a long game with their spontaneity.

These four amazing explorations reflect a kind of total music. "Full of enthusiasm, he writes, "Almost telepathically, Borderlands builds a unified sonic architecture that celebrates the act of collective improvisation as profoundly, as beautifully, and as completely as anything I've ever heard." McPherson turned 50 on the day of the recording and calls the experience "the ultimate birthday gift.