Allison Philips and Tree Palmedo at Tradesman Brooklyn
Over a combined decade-plus in New York, longtime friends Allison Philips and Tree Palmedo have built individual reputations as tasteful trumpeters and thoughtful composers; now they’ve joined forces as a new duo, Palmedo Philips, for a unique exploration of their shared instrument. Philips, a New Jersey native, leads an acclaimed quartet and frequently appears with the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Aberdeen, and the NYChillharmonic. Palmedo hails from the Pacific Northwest and is an eager collaborator in the indie rock scene, playing with a host of songwriters and leading the band Peaceful Faces.
Neighbors during the height of COVID, the pair began punctuating the lockdown doldrums by experimenting with electronics, convening at Philips’s apartment for open ended ambient improvisations. These casual get-togethers continued sporadically for the next several years, slowly developing until finally emerging on the duo’s new EP. The project places folk-like melodies and angsty, spacious improvisations amidst richly dramatic soundscapes built entirely out of sampled and effected trumpet (Imagine In A Silent Way by way of Brian Eno, or a Blade Runner film score recorded by Don Cherry). With distinct approaches united by a shared penchant for melody, Palmedo Philips searches for new subtleties in the sound of the trumpet, unafraid of dissonance or emotional depth.