Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm Showers You with "Grit & Grace" and Love

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace- Sunnyside Records

Being on the bottom is not always the best place to find yourself, especially in a pile -up that can often happen in a rambunctious football game or a school yard ruckus. Generally, being on the bottom has its disadvantages, except for when you're a bottom master like Jennifer Wharton, a master of the bass trombone. Jennifer Wharton is the exception. 

Wharton is a talented trombonist who specializes in playing the bottom. Having mastered the deep, burnished brass sound of her instrument has served her well. Her deep toned instrument can be heard in a variety of settings, from in the brass section of a classical orchestra, to the pit orchestra of a Broadway musical, to offering comedic relief in the studio music of commercials,  to the brass section of jazz orchestras like D'Arcy James Argue's Secret Society, the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra to name just a few. 

Wharton started her own band, Bonegasm, in 2019 and her latest release         Grit & Grace was released in late 2023 on Sunnyside records. There is no doubt that when it comes to grit and grace- a quality that Forbes magazine once decreed a requirement that women must have to thrive and strive in the business world- this woman has it in spades! And let's face it, as much as music can be an art, surviving as a professional musician is a business.

Wharton's four trombone group, aptly titled Bonegasm-you think this woman likes her instrument- includes her husband John Fedchock, himself a master of the trombone and a prolific leader/composer, ace trombonists Alan Ferber and Nate Mayland, pianist Michael Eckroth, bassist Evan Gregor, drummer Don Peretz and percussionist Samuel Torres. 

Don Peretz , Evan Gregor, John Fedchock, Jennifer Wharton, Alan Ferber, Nate Mayland, Michael Eckroth (photo credit unknown)

Wharton took the Forbes challenge to heart. She decided to commission all but four of the songs on this album from other successful woman composer/conductors. She includes three of her own compositions. "Be Normal," an agitated piece that Fedchock arranged as a birthday gift and is a reference to her own frenetic energy. "Mama's Alright"  a tribute that Wharton penned for the trailblazing trombonist Melba Liston, and one of her earliest compositions "Virtual Reality,"  a  wining piece that has some great ensemble work.

Australian composer/conductor Vanessa Perica wrote "Our Darkest Hour," a dirge-like piece of music that somberly expresses concern over the political turmoil we experienced back in 2020. With somber moans and wails  by Wharton and some nice work by Ferber, this one is even more relevant in today's chaotic climate.

"Norhala" was penned by composer conductor Miho Hazama and uses a fantasy novel "The Metal Monster" as it's source of inspiration. Here the section wail in synchronous cadence. There is a ominous metallic, mechanical feel to this one  with an effective solo by Mayland and a potent drum feature at the coda by Peretz.

"Uncertainty" was beautifully written by Columbia born pianist/composer Carolina Calvache, well known for her trombone pieces. The percussive effects by Torres stand out here setting the tone, as Fedchock's trombone offers a moving solo. The four trombone section work is a beautifully controlled synchronous marvel and Gregor's offers a buoyant bass solo. The music is a joy.

Trombonist/vocalist Natalie Cressman wrote the Brazilian influenced  "Menina Sozinha" which fittingly translates to "girl on her own." This one features solos by Wharton and the pianist Eckroth.

Nadje Noorhuis is an Australian born trumpeter/composer whose "Coop's Condiments," is a funky shuffle that features Wharton on lead vocals and the band backing her up with their call and responses. The song is a homage to a Creole restaurant in New Orleans and features a plucky bass solo by Gregor. They certainly had fun with this one.

"La Bruja" is a traditional Mexican folk song that was played in the film about Frida Kahlo. The music is arranged by Wharton, played with gusto by Fedchock and also features some nice piano solo work by Eckroth.

The only song on the list that was not written by a woman is saxophonist Dick Oatts "Anita."  Wharton arranged this one for the record and is played like a beautiful waltz, with solos by trombonist Mayland and Eckroth. 

If you love a trombone ensemble like I do. One that revels in the textures, emotionally evoking and depth of sound that one of music's most expressive instruments can produce in the right hands, then you will certainly enjoy Jennifer Wharton and her Bonegasm's Grid & Grace  as they shower you with some great music and some love.

Death of the Voice of America Without a Proper Eulogy

The Voice of America building, Monday, June 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)


The Voice of America is an International broadcasting media network that was founded February 1, 1942. It was primarily used as a means to deliver uncensored anti-propaganda information to an international audience, particularly during World War II, where the Axis countries suppressed free press and disseminated misinformation. During the cold war and beyond, the United States continued to broadcast radio, music and television programming in as much as forty-eight languages, particularly aimed at peoples who lived under communist regimes or exploitive autonomous rulers. While the aims of the broadcasts were purportedly a boost to the promulgation of free speech and free thinking, there is no doubt that the V of A was consider, by some, to be a soft power tool for the United States to present our culture, education and arts in a favorable light and hopefully promote democratic principals. You find yourself on either side of the motives behind why these broadcasts were provided. One thing seems to be true, most people found the free programing an intellectual lifesaver, a welcome portal into an otherwise unavailable world of opposing thought. An alternative world of arts, music, education and culture that they may have never been aware.

On March 15, 2025, an executive order from President Donald Trump ordered the closing and discontinuation of news and other regular programming. It was a rather abrupt change and overnight almost all of the 1300 journalists, administrators, and managers were put on leave. The V of A has been one of the only sources of news, music, education and art programming for people in underdeveloped or restricted countries for over its eighty-three years.

Some may say that the continuation of the mission of the V of A is outdated, a remnant of a world where communications were less sophisticated, where anyone with a digital radio, a cell phone or a television can today receive an almost unlimited amount of news from multiple sources without ever needing to rely on the V of A broadcast anymore. Many people in the third world do not have the luxury of possessing or having access to these devices. Radios are relatively cheap links to these people and the services were provided in multiple languages. Do the myriad of bloggers,  digital reporters, newswire services  et al provide translations in as many languages as V of A did?  This chainsaw evisceration of the V of A has left a gapping hole in the flow of truthful information being sent out to those people who have relied upon the V of A. It is likely that this hole will be filled by another broadcaster. A broadcaster who will try to win over new fans of their own particular version of the truth. Easy to guess who they may be and what their messaged programming might sound like.  

But why is a jazz journalist interested in such an occurrence? Another journalist that I read and respect, Richard Williams, wrote a short post today about the shut down of of V of A (link to Richard's post here). He mentioned he couldn't recall listening to the V of A since the '60s, but nonetheless remembers how much his exposure to the V of A broadcast of the show Jazz Hour with Willis Conover meant to him.

Photo of Willis Conover from Wikipedia (photo credit unknown)

Williams lives in England and it on Conover's show where he first heard Miles Davis's "All Blues" from Kind of Blue and Gil Evans's " La Nevada" from his seminal Out of the Cool record. He calls them "...still the richest and most compelling extended pieces of music I know." What more do we need to hear about how important this broadcasting has been for Williams and countless others. And that's just from a jazz music point of view. 

I just hope the brainiacs in charge realize that their impulsive actions do not help this country and in fact most likely to cede influence in the world. It was a special thing to have a voice reaching out to other people, in their own language, and allowing them to see some of our openness warts and all.  Soft power or not it was a service that served us well, celebrating and sharing our art, our music and our culture proudly and it will be missed. 

A New Piano Voice from Italy: Giulio Gentile : Dream's Museum

Giulio Gentile with Pietro Pancella and Michele Santoleri- Dream's Museum- Auand records

The Italian pianist Giulio Gentile is a new name to me. Gentile is from Pescara, a coastal town along the Adriatic. It is in central Italy halfway between Ravena to the north and Bari to the south. Gentile has won several important awards throughout Italy and Europe, and he is rightfully starting to get attention beyond. His association as a duet with the supple vocalist Emanuella Di Benedetto produced a delightful and ethereal release in 2019 titled There is No Place Like Home,       where Gentile provided the music and Di Benedetto provided the lyrics and vocalizations. We hope to hear more from this interesting duo in the future. 

Gentile's sympatico relationship with his trio bandmates-double bassist Pietro Pancella and drummer Michele Santoleri- was first recorded on their 2022 album titled Insight, also on Auand. Having briefly listened to these two melodic and creative albums, its no wonder to expect anything but more exciting music from this fertile pianist and his bandmates on his latest Dream's Museum, released on March 7, 2025, and it doesn't disappoint.

Giulio Gentile (photo credit unknown)

The album took a year to develop after it's debut album Insight, as the trio tried to explore different sounds and approaches to the music without varying too far from what they felt was their essence. Gentile says " ...this album has a wider range of colours, sounds, and rhythmic approaches, compared to the previous one." Thematically, the album is centered on the creative aspects that dreams have on the artist, in this case Gentile.

The music has a sense of being melodically driven in a contemporary pianistic way, but like some of jazz's best piano trios, the group is not rhythmically stuck, often introducing unexcepted dynamism and elasticity to their themes. The trio  uses traditional instrumental sounds- double bass, drums and piano- and add contrast by introducing unusual sounds like a Glockenspiel to great affect.

Giulio Gentile Trio (photo credit unknown)

The opening song "Dream's Gate" has a gorgeous opening from Gentile with a classical feel before it shifts dramatically, rhythmically, as Pancella's bass booms with authority and Santoleri's drum work is explosive. There is a freedom in their playing that seems unrestricted by what Gentile has laid down on his score and it is invigorating to hear them let loose and really get into it.

There are nine Gentile compositions ranging from just over five minutes to just over seven and one half minutes, and they all have  appropriate ethereal character. "In Her Eyes" is a waltz-like feel to it. The trio varies the pace keeping the music unpredictable and they keep you wondering what might be next. There are parts that seem majestic before the trio settles back into the original pace. The listener, like we the dreamer, follows an unmarked path that leads us through the musical miasma to unknown places until we are awakened at the coda.

Other songs include "Guardians of Awakening," a shifting rhythm that features some powerful bass lines by Pancella. The bassist  has a second sense of how to accentuate Gentile's music at just the right time. The music overflows with improvisational bravado.

"Life Finds A Way" introduces the bell-like chimes of Santoleri's Glockenspiel, adding  a gentle tonal color to this one. Gentile's piano is fluid with a driven momentum that creates it's own splendor. Gentile's staccato piano lines match Santoleri's chime-work to create a synchronous line of varying colors that really stand out.

"Ancestral Roots" has a hymnal sound to it, tender, searching and emotional. . Pancella's double bass resounds with a burnished tone that is strong and impressive.

"Hopscotch," revives Santoleri's  use of the chime-like sound of the Glockenspiel to the mix. Gentile's piano work is probing. Like a sleepwalker in a dream, he is traveling, discovering and trying to make sense of the constantly changing terrain. The pianist creates a vortex of ideas that all swirl and then hopscotch forward, as they navigate the suppressed reality.

"Subconscious"  is a state of awareness in the mind that often challenges our sense of what we are seeing and this awareness is not available when fully conscious. Gentile tickles the piano keys, subtly teasing the subdued  mood as if  not awaken the trance. The trio are intuitively aligned in creating this mental state of suspension. Gentile's repeated piano lines accompanied by Pancella's driving bass and Santorleri's roiling drums end the piece like an attempt to shake oneself out of the stupor.

"L'Abisso."  the Abyss, a deep and gaping emptiness, could be Gentile's metaphor for being in a dark creative hole. The music has a somberness to it and perhaps that is what he and his trio are trying to relate.

The final composition is titled "Join the Dots."  The music has a jagged line that evokes to me a sleepwalker trying to navigate himself on a foreign terrain  When your dreaming, you may not be able to "join the dots" of what you have just experienced in a dream state and make sense of it, to use it as creative inspiration. If you are able to recall your subconscious travels, you may like Thomas Edison, jot the waking thoughts down immediately and 'join the dots" that the creative side of your mind is trying to reveal to you. Inspiration through the subconscious has often been a trail for further creativity. Gentile seems to be one who can tap that mysterious resource.