Compass Rose Sextet - Carnivalesque (2014)

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Compass Rose Sextet - Carnivalesque (2014)

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Compass Rose sextet continues its musical odyssey with the eleven new tunes on Carnivalesque. The music in this latest collection draws its inspiration from the sounds and cultures of four different continents: the street parades and beaches of Brazil, the jungles of the Yucatan, the syncopations of Puglia region of Italy, the tonalities of eastern Europe, the genre-blending influences of Afro-pop, as well as the blues and swing idioms of the United States. A couple of these tunes were written to commemorate particular events, such as "Martello Tower," celebrating Bloomsday of Joyce's Ulysses, and "Photograph 51," prompted by the anniversary of Rosalind Franklin's first images of DNA. In all, CR6 has sought to explore and adapt divergent styles in order to extend our musical menu, for our own fulfillment and–hopefully–the listeners' pleasure, while still maintaining our musical identity.

Identity is, of course, always evolving, and so is the make up of CR6. For starters, we're now a sextet, having added an additional violinist, Tom Bowing, to our previous line-up. Another additon to the ensemble, Doug Marier (guitar), comfortably filled a position that came with unusual challenges. CR6’s founding members–Gary Cleland (bass), Atiba Jali (percussion), Larry Howe (mandolin), and Andy Stees (violin)–are gratified to have found like-minded artists to continue to move the Compass Rose journey forward.