New album from music faculty makes Bandcamp’s best-of list for January 2021

Susie Ibarra’s “Talking Gong,” a new album of original compositions featuring Associate Professor Alex Peh and former McArther Genius Grant recipient Claire Chase, has been named one of the top jazz records of January 2021 by Bandcamp.

The musicians will be celebrating the new album with an online listening and watch party on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m., which will also serve as the opening event for the 26th annual Dream Festival. Event admission is by donation.

The project has been years in the making for Ibarra, a widely heralded jazz and experimental percussionist, who debuted “Talking Gong” at SUNY New Paltz in February 2018. Ibarra has since joined the Department of Music as an adjunct professor.

The album was funded by New Music USA and the Davenport Residency for New American Music, and recorded with engineer Eli Crews at Dreamland Studios in Hurley, New York, as well as in Studley Theatre on the SUNY New Paltz campus.

The sound of “Talking Gong” exists at the intersection of Filipino traditional music, experimental improvisation, and contemporary chamber music. It is bookended by four short Meriendas (translated as “snack” from Filipino): brief improvisatory pieces take in which each instrument occupies a different space. The title track is the centerpiece of the recording, with nearly 17 minutes of music that covers a wide range of sonic territory.

The artists are looking forward to performing this music for live audiences again soon.

“This project continues to reap rewards,” Peh said. “We will hopefully do an album release tour once the pandemic abates.”

Talking Gong is available now on Bandcamp, Amazon, and Apple Music.