THE ECSTASY of BECOMING
FLYING POOKA
florian hoefner • dani oore
Instrumental Recording of the Year ECMA 2024
Best Canadian Jazz Albums of 2023 —Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
55 Best 2023 Canadian Jazz and Creative Releases —Kirilie McDowall, In the Zen
Best of 2023 Part 7, Episode 264 —Larry the Radio Guy, Discovering Jazz, Apple Podcasts
Mark Lomanno – The Month in Review – October 2023
“joyous and tricky … stunningly lyrical and dynamic … At times calming and lushly melodic, at others playful and noisy” — Lomanno
ON ALL PLATFORMS:
The Ecstasy Of Becoming: https://flyingpooka.lnk.tt/TEOB
TOUR DATE TICKET LINKS
- THUR OCT 5, 7:30PM ST. JOHN’S SHOW MUN DF Cook Hall
- TUES OCT 17, 8PM TORONTO SHOW Canadian Music Centre
- WED OCT 18, 1PM OTTAWA WORKSHOPS Salle Freiman Hall, Pavillon Pérez Building, Beaudry Somcyncsky Visiting Composer Series, w/ Robert Rival
- WED OCT 18, 8PM OTTAWA SHOW Tabaret Hall
- THUR OCT 19, 1PM WOLFVILLE SHOW Acadia Festival Theatre
- TBD THUR OCT 19, 6:30PM WOLFVILLE WORKSHOP Acadia University Jazz Ensemble
- FRI OCT 20, 12PM HALIFAX WORKSHOPS closed to public
- FRI OCT 20, 7PM CANNING SHOW Ross Creek Annex
- SAT OCT 21, 10:30AM CANNING WORKSHOPS Ross Creek Annex, inclusive sound & movement workshop
- SAT OCT 21, 7:30PM HALIFAX SHOW Music Room
PRESS
- ‘BEST OF’ Lists:
- BEST CANADIAN JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2023 & Best Free Jazz Album
Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen - 55 BEST 2023 CANADIAN JAZZ AND CREATIVE RELEASES
Kirilie McDowall, In the Zen - BEST OF 2023 PART 7, EPISODE 264
Larry the Radio Guy, Discovering Jazz, Apple Podcasts - PÅ SKIVE
Jan Granlie, salt peanuts*
“usigelig vakker” [unspeakably beautiful]
- BEST CANADIAN JAZZ ALBUMS OF 2023 & Best Free Jazz Album
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- THE MONTH IN REVIEW – OCTOBER 2023, A LIST OF NOTEWORTHY NEW RECORDS RELEASED THIS MONTH
Mark Lomanno, The Rhythm of Study
- THE MONTH IN REVIEW – OCTOBER 2023, A LIST OF NOTEWORTHY NEW RECORDS RELEASED THIS MONTH
“The Ecstasy of Becoming is joyous and tricky. The musicians — pianist Florian Hoefner and saxophonist Dani Oore — were new to me. The album is comprised entirely of improvisation — no set melodies, no through-composed passages, no premeditated arrangements. This practice isn’t especially remarkable but the results on Ecstasy are stunningly lyrical and dynamic. A third sonic element — Oore’s raw, whimsical singing — adds a timbre and approach that are neither imitative nor derivative. Oore highlights the human voice as another instrument in the ensemble rather than suggesting any semblance of a “traditional” jazz vocal performance practice. In fact, the listener can hear the work that Oore has done to meld the timbres of his voice and saxophone together, producing magical moments when you’re left wondering where one ends and the other begins. The Ecstasy of Becoming is full of highly inventive and engaging music. At times wondrously improvised, the development, organization, precision and clarity of ideas, and arcs of the music betray a deep connection between the musicians. Hoefner and Oore cover a wide range of sounds and genres, with imagination, intriguing and responsive dialogue, and expert musicality as the unifying factors. At times calming and lushly melodic, at others playful and noisy, as Flying Pooka the duo plays fugues, jams, grooves and vamps; ballads that bounce and others that caress; dances that haunt, lurk, and seep; and others that flutter and float. Be sure to add the album’s penultimate track, “Death Dances,” to your All Hallow’s Eve/día de los muertos soundtrack.” —Mark Lomanno
Feature: Ottawa Citizen, Peter Hum
Interview: Ottawa Citizen, Peter Hum
Review: Jazz Journal, M. Bannond
CREDITS
Florian Hoefner: piano
Dani Oore: saxophone, voice
Dave Darlington: mastering engineer, mixing
Nadja von Massow: art work, cover design
Steve Lilly: recording engineer