Whirl of Nothingness

Saxophonist Paul Flaherty is New England's purveyor of the ecstatic jazz pulse. Even before his 1978 record debut Flaherty remained unshakable in the pursuit of soul healing and demon dashing through freedom music. Whirl of Nothingness, Flaherty's second solo album, is eight pieces of alto and tenor saxophone steeped in the theme of loss and channeled through blasting improvisations that showcase his fabulous wailing and inferno of sound to stark bluesy melodies. In the slim cannon of solo horn records (alongside Anthony Braxton, Coleman Hawkins, Kaoru Abe, Peter Brotzmann, Arthur Doyle), Whirl of Nothingness stands triumphantly strong and wholly distinct as a shifting sphere of sound poetry and spiritual tongue.

Whirl of Nothingness is the follow-up to 2003's Voices.