Reviews

 

"[Radiance is] a radical work that reorients the listener's relationship to time...
Radiance was achieved at the end of the nearly 40-minute piece by pleasantly astringent harmony, after which the music faded away to silence."

- Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"Ned McGowan, a composer and flutist, proved there’s still plenty of life in old-fashioned virtuosity with “Bantammer Swing,” a playful, athletic concerto for his unwieldy contrabass flute."

- Steve Smith, NY Times

 

 "... Ned McGowan's new piece 'Wood Burn' does well and grows to the highpoint of the evening."

- Mark van de Voort, Brabants Dagblad

"A particularly impressive piece is Workshop by Ned McGowan... McGowan creates a wonderful environment of machine and construction 'noises', placed in timbral and rhythmic interplay with rapid, flashy recorder lines that travel into quieter sections and end exuberantly."

- Tom Bickley, American Recorder



"[Tools is] Brutal en humorous"

 - GeNeCo

"...Amsterdam-based Ned McGowan's complex and sensitive use of machine noises. Combining acoustic instruments with machine sounds is nothing new, of course, but the composer's treatment of mechanistic noises is like a Tinguely sculpture in its sensitivity and humor. In Tools, machines accompany the live instruments and take their own solos – "these machines are your friends".. but watch out, they could kill you later. The sound quality is exceptional – from the frightening horror-movie of a slowly rising freight elevator to the exuberant bangs of compressors and pile drivers. On top of it all, and ultimately the real musical focal point, are the acoustic instruments. Performer, improviser, and composer McGowan has assembled around himself a tribe of dedicated musicians who perform the most fiendishly difficult rhythms with flair and ease...

Opting for a highly-composed framework, but with many openings for improvisation, McGowan also has a strong background in Indian music, which is particularly evident in 'Stone Soup', even if it veers a bit close to pop-ness...

Tools is also packed with discreet acoustic rooms, some more resonant than others, but all proving that, when operating heavy machinery, subtlety pays off."

- Guy Livingston for Paris Transatlantic

 

"Whether singing, humming, sputtering or tapping, McGowan was a veritable master class in contemporary flute tone production, including passages using the faint clicking, percussive effect of the keys.  And he got extra points for showing no signs of irritation when faced with slight sounds bleeding through the back of the stage from the space next door.
...

(about Second City)  Ricocheting tempi combined with sometimes acrid, piercing sonorities to conclude some of the most satisfying music of the night."

- Bruce Hodges

"The compositions of band leader Ned McGowan, very complex in many ways, are especially well put together. Live performance also allows them to breathe enough, by optimally taking advantage of theatrical aspects[…]"

- Mischa Andriessen, www.jazzenzo.nl

 

"...ook in sublieme duetten. Zoals accordeonist Theo van Tol en fluitist Ned McGowan op adembenemende wijze demonstreerden, waarbij Van Tol één langgerekte hoge toon uit zijn instrument blies, waarover McGowan uit zijn imponerende (twee meter hoge) contrabasdwarsfluit diepe en donkere tonen spreidde. Bijzonder fraai..."

- Erno Elsinga, www.jazzenzo.nl