Nicole Connelly: Stamp In Time

  Trombonist Nicole Connelly makes her recording debut with Stamp In Time. Most of the pieces are in a revealing trio format, with a steady Zachary Swanson on bass and the dynamic Kate Gentile on drums. Trumpeter (and twin sister) Erin Connelly guests on a few pieces, and Andrew Hadro brings his baritone saxophone roar to Sky Piece. Connelly has a warm and enveloping sound on trombone, with occasional forays into grittier tones. The growling drone that opens the lead-off title track gives way to a sweet sound when Swanson and Gentile drift into the picture. Roswell Rudd’s Bamako follows with a bright groove stoked by Gentile’s peppy drumming and Swanson’s solid walking bass. Connelly is smooth as silk on this one, with an unhurried presence and an imaginative solo. Erin Connelly makes her first appearance on Shadow Self, as the sisters loosely duet over busy rhythms for just a couple of minutes. The assertive groove of Malaton is a real standout. It’s a fairly simple tune, energized by the robust interplay of the trio. Brown Recluse is a charming ballad, featuring lovely counterpoint by Erin Connelly. The brief Rising Wide-Eyed combines bowed bass and cymbals with a gentle melody for trombone. Thomas Chapin’s Sky Piece is the most boisterous song of the date, thanks to Hadro’s gruff baritone. Connelly takes a fine unaccompanied solo right in the middle. The appropriately somber Lullaby of the Doomed, an obscure Babs Gonzalez tune recorded by Bennie Green in 1958, is a showcase for Connelly’s multiphonics, with Swanson and Gentile providing delicate support. The jumping Day by Day is another highlight, as Gentile’s drums push Connelly into a broadly swinging mode that suits her to a T. And Counting ... ends the set with a free-sounding duet between trumpet and trombone. At not much more than two minutes, it’s the kind of piece that leaves you wanting more, and in fact I feel that way about many of the tracks. At 32 and a half minutes, Stamp In Time offers a relatively brief but thoroughly enjoyable look into Nicole Connelly’s musical world. An auspicious debut, well worth hearing. 

Self-produced; Nicole Connelly (tbn) Zachary Swanson (b) Kate Gentile (d) Erin Connelly (tpt on *) Andrew Hadro (bari s on #); Brooklyn, NY, August 2023; Stamp in Time/ Bamako/ Shadow Self*/ Malaton/ Brown Recluse*/ Rising Wide-Eyed/ Sky Piece#/ Lullaby of the Doomed/ Crow Song*/ Tiff*/ Day by Day/ And Counting...*; 32:31. nicoleconnelly.bandcamp.com