Certain words you simply do not expect to see written together, "ambient" and "tuba" are two such words. But it takes a fraction of this album's 56-minute running time to make you forget the lumbering marching band stigma the instrument is wedded to. With delay, reverb and long breaths, a drone of remarkable depth and texture is revealed. Perhaps it is the tuba's low register that makes the richness of tone a reality. That Heasley improvised the two pieces live in studio, leaving them as is once finished, is a remarkable achievement in playing and patience. Fans of drone music, or meditative music of any kind, will enjoy this experience. Fans of Sousa may not.
(Innova)Tom Heasley
On the Sensations of Tone
BY Eric HillPublished Jan 1, 2006
