Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, co-leader); Abraham Gomez-Delgado (percussion, voice, co-leader); Kamala Sankaram (accordion, voice); Mark Taylor (french horn); Reut Regev (trombone); Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone); Michael Attias (baritone saxophone); Pete Fitzpatrick (electric guitar); Alvaro Benavides (electric bass); Tomas Fujiwara (drums).
Positive Catastrophe is the brainchild of Taylor Ho Bynum and Abraham Gomez-Delgado. Bynum has been described as “animated as a vintage Loony Tune...one of the most exciting figures in jazz's new power generation” (Time Out Chicago). Gomez-Delgado has been called “the new century's mad scientist, creating a musical hybrid so seemingly wrong it can be nothing but right” (Global Rhythm Magazine). After nearly a decade of friendship and collaboration, Bynum and Gomez-Delgado founded Positive Catastrophe in 2007, a “raucous 10-piece ensemble…which nails its distinctive blend of Afro-Cuban rhythm and freewheeling improvisation” (The New York Times).
The group enlists a bevy of New York’s most adventurous jazz and salsa musicians, all composers and leaders in their own right, whose performing credits include such luminaries as Anthony Braxton, Max Roach, Henry Threadgill, Paul Motian, Steve Coleman, and Eddie Bobé. With the exceptional musicianship of the players and their fluidity in multiple genres, a unique instrumentation that hints at a traditional jazz and salsa big bands yet includes french horn, accordion, and rock guitar, and a pair of dramatic vocalists that are comfortable singing in three languages, Positive Catastrophe creates a truly boundary-crossing kind of new music.
Positive Catastrophe’s debut album, Garabatos Volume One, was released by Cuneiform Records in May 2009 to rave reviews. Time Out New York says “It’s a doozy: a wonderfully lush and unusual Latin-jazz party record…full of swagger and groove, it combines Mingus-esque polyphonic momentum with vibrantly off-kilter world-funk.” All Music Guide writes “PC features some of NYC's best and brightest creative jazz talent, who bring enthusiasm and chops to the realization of the co-leaders' vision…this outfit seems to understand how to win listeners over to the fiery side of free jazz, just as Sun Ra did.” According to the The New York Press, “Pos-Cat maintains a playful, even giddy vibe as it bends its Latin, swing, and progressive vibes so that they’re each recognizable but delightfully warped. If you’ve been hungering to hear Latin-based jazz in a new light, your prayers have been answered.”
