Fire Lapping at the Creek
Fire Lapping at the Creek is an album of ten compositions for sextet that creates an experimental, speculative history of the blues through the language of contemporary jazz. Drawing on research into Delta blues, early jazz, the musical traditions of the West African Sudanic Belt, and maqam, the music explores the blues as a syncretic tradition shaped by centuries of cultural exchange and transformation.
Fire Lapping draws on the resonances and frictions between these traditions to reveal hidden possibilities in the realms of tuning, rhythm, and improvisation.
Released in 2024 on Infrequent Seams, the album features David Leon (alto saxophone), Xavier Del Castillo (tenor saxophone), Zekkereya El-Magharbel (trombone), Alec Goldfarb (guitar, composition), Chris Tordini (bass), and Steven Crammer (drums).
Fire Lapping at the Creek will play at The Stone in NYC on July 31st, 2027, and tour Europe in Sept/Oct 2027.
Selected Press:
"Earthy yet articulate, sweeping yet spectral, Fire Lapping At The Creek is an ecstatic monument to blues across space and time." Ana Gavrilovska, Uncut
"Realized by a rigorous and creative sextet, Goldfarb's scores are full of ingenious juxtapositions and twists."
Stewart Smith, The Wire
"Fascinating and often unpredictable... If you give this disc some time, there will be some odd magic found within." Bruce Gallanter, DMG
A clip from our album release: