Sister Phantom Owl Fish

• Artist: Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant
• Rating:
• Release Date: July 27, 2004
• Genre: Jazz

Review

Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant is back for their second album, although with a completely different lineup (besides Dunn, of course). Adam Levy and Kenny Wollesen are gone, replaced by Mary Halvorson on guitar and Ches Smith on drums. The music they play is not so much a fusion of styles as it is a collision of styles. Almost straight-ahead jazz noodling gives way to hardcore blasts and crunching power chords, then completely devolves into Derek Bailey territory, but the band is always together. You can tell that some of it is quite composed, and that other sections are most likely entirely improvised. Dunn plays acoustic bass throughout ("Me Susurra un Secreto" is actually a bass solo), while Halvorson is all over the map sonically, switching between clean and distorted tones, chords, single-string runs, and extended techniques. She also judiciously uses some kind of delay or pitch-bending device to wonderful effect. The tunes are challenging but aren't difficult to listen to, and their cover of Duke Ellington's "The Single Petal of a Rose" (with guest harpist Shelley Burgon) is actually quite pretty. If you've been following Trevor Dunn's widely varied career as a player, you know he's got a sense of adventure, and Sister Phantom Owl Fish will not disappoint. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Liver-Colored Dew	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(6:00)
The Empty Glass Has a Name	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(4:42)
Specter of Serling	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(6:12)
Me Susurra un Secreto	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(1:45)
Dawn's Early Vengance	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(5:41)
The Single Petal of a Rose	Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn	Trevor Dunn	(6:32)
The Salamander	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(6:08)
She Ossifies	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(8:24)
Styrofoam & Grief	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(6:41)
I'm Sick	André Previn	Trevor Dunn	(2:50)
[Untitled]	Trevor Dunn	Trevor Dunn	(1:00)

Credits

Trevor Dunn (Bass), Michael Marciano (Engineer), Scott Hull (Mastering), Mackie Osborne (Design), Ches Smith (Drums), Shelley Burgon (Harp), Shelley Burgon (Guest Appearance), Mary Halvorson (Guitar), Morwell Hodges (Cover Photo), Milan Kundera (Author), Cameron Vale (Collage)