Northern Dispensary
SEBASTIAN NOELLE
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Northern Dispensary (S. Noelle)
Sebastian Noelle - guitar
Matt Mitchell - piano
Chris Tordini - bass
Dan Weiss - drums
Guitarist/composer Sebastian Noelle balances the cerebral and the emotional on his thrilling fourth album
System One, due out October 29 via Fresh Sound New Talent, features a brilliant quartet with pianist Matt Mitchell, bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Dan Weiss
In his 2011 book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman proposed two opposing thought processes: System One being the more intuitive, emotional and spontaneous and System Two the more logical and deliberative.
The title of System One, the fourth release by German-born, New York-based guitarist/composer Sebastian Noelle, would seem to lean toward the former. But given the intricate architecture and often-complex demands of his music, it soon becomes clear that the emphasis on intuition is more about balance – a harmonious melding of the cerebral and the emotional that is vibrantly captured by this scintillating new album.
Due out October 29, 2021 via Fresh Sound New Talent, System One finds Noelle leading a stellar quartet bringing together four artists all gifted at the art of rooting the thorny and labyrinthine within the profoundly personal. The guitarist is joined by pianist Matt Mitchell (Dave Douglas, Tim Berne); bassist Chris Tordini (Steve Lehman, Tyshawn Sorey); and drummer Dan Weiss (Chris Potter, Rudresh Mahanthappa).
“I wanted to make more intuitive decisions in my music,” Noelle explains. “I tried to avoid overthinking things. It’s not really something you can do consciously; it’s more about constructing the music and then abandoning it if it doesn’t have that emotional connection.”
The notion is vividly embodied by the cover art, a deceptively simple painting by Noelle consisting merely of two brushstrokes. It’s a colorful reminder that the first instinct, the simple gesture, the barest of textures may be enough to express an idea -- in fact, could convey that idea more urgently than writing volumes.
The cover art suggests connections with both abstract expressionism and Japanese art and philosophy, the latter of which has been a major interest for Noelle. He raises the notion of “wabi-sabi,” the idea of finding beauty in the imperfect or the incomplete. Significantly, the sleeve art for System One includes a photograph of the Austin, Texas art installation known as the “Cathedral of Junk,” a massive backyard sculpture built from all manner of cultural detritus.
“It's one of my favorite places,” Noelle says of the Cathedral, which also lends its name to one of the compositions on the album. “Like the sculpture itself, the tune was created by taking different pieces from here and there and putting them together. All together you get the feeling of a lot of little details.”
“Northern Dispensary” takes its name from an abandoned building across the street from the famed jazz haunt 55 Bar in Greenwich Village. Once a free medical clinic, the building is now abandoned, preserved by its historic status yet empty and neglected. Once again, Noelle is captivated by the notion of a purgatorial space, full of once-useful objects now abstracted and decaying.
“Not all those who wander are lost” reads the J.R.R. Tolkien quote printed inside System One, and the album is certainly a dense and breathtaking space to roam within, whether with the intentionality of focused thought or the reactive thrill of simply letting this exhilarating music wash over you.