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"What lovely, graceful and heartfelt music Joe Phillips composes. He already has something very special that is uniquely his own. His textures are unique and his compositions unfold naturally and patiently. I got to know Joe many years ago when we worked together. Now, to see him putting together such a special ensemble of his own design, performing such expressive musical creations, well, it's just very exciting to witness. I might add that he's an absolutely beautiful conductor. I love to watch him. And, this is just the beginning. Joe will do many great things--I have no doubt."-Maria Schneider "Joe Phillips is a composer for whom conventional musical boundaries have no meaning. His pieces draw freely from sources as diverse as jazz, classical, contemporary classical, funk, and the non-Western world. Then he uses his imagination to creatively blend all of these into his own musical kaleidoscope. The resulting music energizes, soothes, and most importantly challenges the listener. Highly recommended!"-Jim McNeely "[His] music is warm, rich and quite enchanting...It falls between jazz and modern classical... Everything [on the Numinous CD] moves a slow pace, breathing a delicate, somber beauty into each piece. Certainly a rarity amongst the more nervous and neurotic energy that NY is so full of. A delightful gem to be treasured." -Downtown Music Gallery, New York City "What makes the whole [CD] distinctive is, in fact, the way that some pieces effortlessly take reference from many sources, the end result being greater than the sum of the parts...With a chamber jazz sound that entices while, at the same time, uncompromisingly challenging the listener to become engrossed in extended forms that play like travelogues to places both far away and near to home, Numinous, with The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr., introduces a composer with a personal and stylistically liberated vision." -John Kelman, All About Jazz "So, as often happens, a CD arrives in the mail from someone I've never heard of. In this case it's this CD. I pop it in and am treated to some beautiful trance/minimalism, ala the very best of early Steve Reich, ala Piano Phase, but richly orchestrated and with jazzy overtones. Wow. I'm impressed. And hooked. The record continues to play and this incredible third stream music that isn't just jazz, isn't only modern classical and isn't similar to anything actually keeps coming forth. Why haven't I heard of this guy before?... I can not recommend this highly enough." -Wayside Music "...luminous...shimmering...[an] expansive vision...crystalline..." -David Dupont, One Final Note "Outstanding new release by this heretofore unknown composer. Phillips writes beautiful pieces that are a cross between Steve Reich/Phillip Glass style minimalism, Carla Bley's large ensemble jazz/classical hybrids and the progressive styles of artists like Mike Oldfield or Brian Eno. The minimalism isn't overriding and Phillips goes in & out of that style at will... A true masterpiece that gets better with every listen!" -www.znrcds.com "LSM recevait récemment un disque de l'ensemble new-yorkais Numinous, fondé par le compositeur Joseph C. Phillips Jr., sur lequel on découvre une musique très raffinée interprétée par un ensemble composé d'excellents musiciens provenant des mondes du jazz et de la musique classique. Le disque The Music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. (indépendant, voir le site www.numinousmusic.com) s'ouvre sur une pièce qui évoque immédiatement l'héritage de Steve Reich tel qu'il est propagé de nos jours par des ensembles comme le Bang On A Can All Stars (du festival new-yorkais BOAC). Musique « répétitive », mais jamais lassante. C'est cependant le seul exemple du genre et les autres pièces sont plutôt faites d'une musique qui reste légère malgré sa densité, aux orchestrations luxuriantes (la production est de premier ordre) et aux atmosphères changeantes. Étonnant, et sans doute un peu déprimant, de constater que cette musique-là , interprétée par d'excellents musiciens, n'a pas trouvé d'oreille attentive du côté des étiquettes bien étabies. Ce disque-là n'aurait pas déparé le catalogue d'ECM, par exemple." -Rejean Beaucage, La Scena Musicale Numinous is an unique orchestra of some New York City's finest jazz and classical musicians, performing the music of Joseph C. Phillips Jr. Numinous features strings, various percussion, piano, bass, woodwind and brass instruments in a grouping some have called a 'chamber jazz orchestra'. Incorporating improvisation and formal composition, Mr. Phillips conducts the 14 member ensemble which performs throughout New York City music venues and clubs. Influenced by contemporary 'classical' composers as well as by jazz, rock, pop, and film composers, Mr. Phillips naturally fuses these styles into an exciting soundscape and a singularly unique and interesting musical vision. One of Mr. Phillips' goals as a composer can be summed up by a quote from John Coltrane. In the liner notes to Coltrane's Sound, Coltrane says, "the main thing a musician would like to do is give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe." This great quote is a reminder and challenge for Mr. Phillips to strive to create profound and beautiful music. Music not necessarily or always in the classic sense of beauty, meaning pleasing sounds, but music whose intention is to express something meaningful and hopefully lasting. Responding to that challenge Mr. Phillips formed Numinous in the fall of 2000, with the idea to stretch and push his compositions in new and different ways toward that goal. Always with the hope and desire to emotionally and conceptually connect with, enlighten, and challenge listeners, and paraphrasing Johann Sebastian Bach's title page to his Clavierübung, to stimulate and refresh the spirit. Check out the artist's website: http://www.numinousmusic.com Track List: 1. To Kyoto 2. Lost in the Stars 3. A Tear of the Clouds 4. Sweetness 5. Adrian 6. rothko 7. The Polar Express Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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