Vinny Golia review

Clarinetist David Thomas quoted from the article below on his excellent blog The Buzzing Reed earlier today, and I thought it was worth passing along. There is some fun description of amazing woodwind doubler Vinny Golia doing his thing.

Spring Reverb: Golia/Turetzy; Dana Reason Trio

by Christian Hertzog, sandiego.com

The first set was devoted to Vinny Golia and Bertram Turetzky, both of whom have played together in San Diego many times, giving them, as Turetzky announced in one of the generous introductions that preceded each of their 5 selections, a kind of ESP. Unlike Dana Reason, who brought plenty of written music to use (or ignore, as the case may have been) for her set, Golia and Turetzky played freely improvised music.

Golia had so many clarinets, flutes, and saxophones propped up next to him or in a travel bag that Turetzky joked that the real Museum was the one next to Golia. Each work began with Golia pondering which wind to play, making a selection, and then soloing, to be joined shortly afterward by Turetzky. The description of their music making as “ESP” was not far off the mark, given the duo’s uncanny ability to complement each other while spontaneously creating melodies and textures.

Golia has a penchant for playing multiphonics, alternating the highest and lowest registers of his chosen instruments (clarinet, contrabass clarinet, contrabass flute, or piccolo). At other times, he pulled out different varieties of ethnic flutes, from which issued trills, microtones, and spastic twittering melodies.

Read the whole thing.

More about woodwind wizard Vinny Golia at his website.