Blackwood
“This music is soaring, enveloping, comforting, and it creates atmospheres that are both mysterious and languid. A rather unclassifiable album that we highly recommend if you are the type to let yourself loose”. Justin Bernard, La Scena Musicale, Oct. 2021
“Sonically haunting, sophisticated euro-jazz minimalism”.
Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise UK, Nov. 2021
Peter-Anthony Togni – piano
Jeff Reilly – bass clarinet
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October 18, 2024. Sanctuary Concerts announces the release of Passages (SCCD 007), a new recording from Blackwood duo Peter-Anthony Togni (pipe organ) and Jeff Reilly (bass clarinet) with special guest India Gailey.
Find out more and support the artists directly by ordering your digital or physical copy of the album on bandcamp here!
Inspired by plainchant, free improvisation and holy minimalism (think Arvo Part meeting up with Bram Stoker) Blackwood members Jeff Reilly and Peter-Anthony Togni join up with cellist India Gailey to release this new album PASSAGES.
Watch Peter and Jeff perform the title track here:
While their previous release Lost and Found featured exclusively tracks with Peter-Anthony Togni on piano, PASSAGES focus on the pipe organ. Recorded on 3 different organs across the maritime provinces of Atlantic Canada PASSAGES’ sound is rich, mysterious and lyrical.
Peter and Jeff are honoured and delighted to be joined by the cellist, composer, and improviser India Gailey, a rising star based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, who appears on 2 tracks from this album. India adds her wonderful musicianship and powerful improvisations to the sound of this project.
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Blackwood released their first album LOST AND FOUND on September 24th, 2021. Available on all download and streaming sites. Support the artists here by ordering a physical copy or digital download on bandcamp.
Bookings: Kanon Artists Ltd. kanartists@gmail.com
Watch Blackwood perform the title track to their album Lost and Found:
Lost and Found is Peter-Anthony Togni and Jeff Reilly’s collection of compositions inspired by subjects ranging from the power of dreams, the birth of children and grandchildren, the natural world and medieval plainchant. They also include a transcendent take on the Miles Davis classic Blue in Green. Here they are performing track 2 from the album, Uncountable, by Peter-Anthony Togni.
Recorded in the pristine acoustics and isolated environment of Trinity St-Stephen’s church in the small town of Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada — the album has rich and inviting sonic atmosphere.
Blackwood started back in 1998 with a trip to the organ loft. Peter and Jeff had just started working together at the CBC music department in Halifax, NS and on one weekday afternoon Peter mentioned he had acquired the keys to one of the best organs in the city. Without hesitation they skived off the rest of the day to go check it out. Jeff brought his bass clarinet along and the sounds they were able to make in that cathedral space of St Mary’s Basilica were a revelation. They discovered a deep musical sympatico that has led to over 2 decades of remarkable productivity.
Peter and Jeff went on to tour the world with the trio Sanctuary, record concertos for bass clarinet and choir on the German label ECM, string orchestra concertos on Warner Classics and award winning full length works for solo bass clarinet and vocal quartet on the Montreal based label ATMA Classique.
In spite of having worked on many large-scale projects together, it is in the intimate context of performing their own compositions on piano and bass clarinet that Togni and Reilly celebrate the full range of their many years of collaborative musical experience. In their debut release as a duo, Togni and Reilly explore everything from ancient modality to contemporary modernism. Their sound has the precision of gesture and clarity of focus found in any serious classical ensemble, but also taps into the expressive freedom found in the improvisational gestures of contemporary jazz.
Watch the entire CD release concert (with special guest bassist Ronald J. Hynes) here:
Blackwood’s take on the Miles David classic, Blue in Green:
Peter-Anthony Togni’s “Silentio”, with Peter on the pipe organ.
