Half Notes: Sean Noonan Brewed by Noon – Boxing Dreams (2008)

I love a good musical crossover. By that I don’t mean when a country star has a pop hit. No, what I’m talking about is a tune that is taken completely out of context by being covered in a different genre. One of my favorite records is called Brand New Second Hand, a collection of pop tunes that have been reggae-fied. The amazing thing is that there are songs that I used to absolutely hate, but ended up loving in reggae form. Remember “On and On”? “Down in Jamaica they got lots of pretty women….”? Stephen Bishop? Super-icky. As a reggae tune (by Aswad)? Awesome. OK, so now that I’ve got that ramble out of the way, let’s talk about Sean Noonan. Oh, he’s a crossover artist alright. But go ahead and give Boxing Dreams a listen and you tell me what this is. Jazz? Rock? Afro-Celtic? A fusion of sorts? For the record, the correct answer is: yes, yes, yes, yes. What this record has in common with the aforementioned reggae covers album is the element of surprise. As you listen, your brain ear bits want to attach the music to a genre … but it never happens. Awesome.

‘Half Notes’ are quick-take thoughts on music from Something Else! Reviews, presented whenever the mood strikes us.

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Mark Saleski

2 Comments

  1. thanks for the review
    please help me announce my tour and project!

    Feb 4 kuenstlerwerkstatt, Pfaffenhofen, DE with guest gerhard gschloessl on trombone
    Feb 6 Ruffini, Munich, DE
    Feb 9 Versus, Freising, DE
    Feb 11 Maisach, DE
    feb 14 Mozg, bydgosczc, PL
    feb 15 Improwizacja Jazz Lounge, lodz, PL
    feb 16 Zno?na lekko?? bytu,warsaw
    feb 17 Jazz Club “Pod Filarami”, Gorzow, PL
    feb 18 Bogart, Gomunice, PL
    feb 19 Muzyczna Owczarnia, Jaworki, PL
    Feb 24- Kunsthaus Weiz, Weiz, Austria
    Feb 29 Jazzclub Hirsch, Moosburg, DE
    March 1- Künstlerhaus, kempten, DE
    March 2 Bolzano, Italy
    March 3 il pigneto, Rome, Italy
    March 5 verein innenhofkultur, klagenfurt, AU
    March 9 Immerhin, wurzburg, DE
    March 11 Jazzclub im Stellwerk, hamburg, DE
    March 12 travel day/Copenhagen/Malmo option?
    March 13 Vinterfestuka, Narvik norway
    march 14 Norway TBA
    march 15 Brønnøy Jazzforum, bronnoy, norway
    march 16 Bakeribyggfestivalen, mo i rana, norway
    March 17 Dexterhaus, Odense, DK
    March 18 MS stubnitz, Rostock, De
    March 21 Kinocafe,Taufkirchen, DE
    March 27 Damberd, gent, BE
    March 28 Trix, Antwerpen, BE
    March 29 InsideOut Club, liege, BE
    March 30 TBA-
    March 31 silke-arp-bricht, Hannover DE
    april 1st Das Rind, Wiesbaden DE
    april 2 Jazzclub Abensberg, Abensberg DE
    april 3 Schmeckhaus, freising, DE
    april 4 schiabn, Erding, DE
    april 5 Altes Pfandhaus,Koln, DE
    Sean in UK with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    april 15 The Bridge, Newcastle, UK with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    April 16 Vortex, London UK with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    April 18-19 Scotland, UK with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    April 20 Fox & Newt on Burley Road, Leeds, UK with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    April 21 The dugout, Kirbymoorside, UK option with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    april 22 The Chapel, Stratford, UK with Matthew Bourne/Born to Brew Duo
    May 4 Lindenkeller, Freising, Germany Brewed by Noon
    May 5 Zum Haber, Osterhofen, Germany with guest gerhard gschloessl on trombone