Review Text
Saxophonist Seth Trachy's debut album "Zygmon" will be released June 6th on Ropeadope records. It features his mentor, McCarthur fellow Miguel Zenon (Charlie Haden, David Sanchez). Born from Trachy's childhood fascination with Pygmy music and culture, "Zygmon" fuses ancient melodies and rhythms of the Baka Pygmies of Cameroon with the fire and creativity of modern jazz, as well as styles ranging from electronic to classical. Both an artistic and social justice pursuit, half of all proceeds are donated to Globalmusicexchange. Org which gives directly to the Baka as they struggle for survival in their increasingly threatened homeland. "Seth has put together a very strong and focused album, full of musical moments of the highest quality. His research and commitment to the project alone is already something to admire, but the fact that he was able to bring it all together in such an organic way is what stayed with me. I'm sure the listener will enjoy it as much as I did". -Miguel Zenon Trachy began studying with Miguel Zenon upon moving to NY. As a composer Zenon's method of fusing music from the African diaspora with jazz served as a model and inspiration for the music that Trachy went on to compose for "Zygmon". Private lessons in which they dissected and analyzed his compositions were fundamental in developing Trachy's compositional approach, implementing classically inspired methods of reframing and developing thematic material as well as incorporating new thematic material as a composition progresses. These compositional concepts can be heard throughout the album and Zenon's influence is reflected in the title (Zenon+Pygmy=Zygmon).
