The name TALAMANTI is inspired by the word tlamantli, from the native Mexican language of Nahuatl. Its meaning refers to two objects that simultaneously share similarities and differences. The music of this duo creates a space for those similarities and differences to flourish. The compositions are inspired by the uniqueness of the instrumentation and the limitless sonic possibilities of the combination of both instruments. Both, the extraordinary pianist Sylvie Courvoisier along with mallet percussionist Patricia Brennan, explore and push the sonic boundaries that their respective instruments present as well as develop a new collective improvisational language that expands on the legacy of this unusual instrument pairing within jazz and improvisational music.
This duo made its debut with a premiere performance at Roulette in Brooklyn, NY on December 6, 2023. The debut recording of this duo is expected to be released in 2025 (they recorded in May 2024).
Pianist-composer Sylvie Courvoisier, a Brooklyn-based native of Switzerland and winner of Germany’s International Jazz Piano Prize in 2022, has earned renown for balancing two distinct worlds: the deep, richly detailed chamber music of her European roots and the grooving, hook-laden sounds of the avant- jazz scene in New York City, her home for more than two decades. Few artists feel truly at ease in both concert halls and jazz clubs, playing improvised or composed music. But Courvoisier — “a pianist of equal parts audacity and poise,” according to The New York Times — is as compelling when performing Stravinsky’s epochal Rite of Spring in league with new-music pianist Cory Smythe as she is when improvising with her own acclaimed jazz trio, featuring bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Then there are her ear-opening collaborations with such luminaries as John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, Evan Parker, Ikue Mori, Ned Rothenberg, Fred Frith, Andrew Cyrille, Mark Feldman, Christian Fennesz, Nate Wooley and Mary Halvorson. In music as in life, Courvoisier crosses borders with a creative spirit and a free mind; her music-making is as playful as it is intense, as steeped in tradition as it is questing and intrepid. NPR’s Kevin Whitehead has encapsulated her art in an evocative way: “Some pianists approach the instrument like it’s a cathedral. Sylvie Courvoisier treats it like a playground.”
Mexican born vibraphonist, marimbist, improviser and composer Patricia Brennan “has been widely feted as one of the instrument’s newer leaders.” observed The New York City Jazz Record. Patricia has won the rising star vibraphonist award from Downbeat magazine’s 70th (2022) and 72nd (2024) Critics Poll and was listed #4 vibraphonist of the year on the 71st (2023) & 72nd (2024) Critics Poll. Her album “More Touch” was listed on NPR’s Best Music of 2022 and the opener track “Unquiet Respect” was listed on NPR’s 100 Best Songs of 2022.
Patricia is also an accomplished side person, working for artists such as Grammy winning Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Big Band and Grammy nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, as well as Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis. Patricia is a Valley of Search, Pyroclastic, Audeze, and Bluehaus Mallets artist and is currently on the faculty at Manhattan School of Music, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and NYU Steinhardt Jazz Program. Read more about Patricia here: http:// www.patriciabrennanvibes.com