Alabaster DePlume

Alabaster DePlume, aka Gus Fairbairn, is a composer, saxophonist, guitarist, and a spoken word poet all rolled into one quirky artist with a clear personal vision. He plays a loose form of jazz that is jagged and angular, and often evokes the feeling that one is witnessing an avant-garde art show breaking out at a spiritual retreat. The times when he drops out of his jazz mode, his songs begin to sound like somewhat folksy ballads with a slightly dissonant cabaret edge. He reportedly constructs his music through improvisations with his musicians in the studio, and that sense of spontaneity comes across in his work. The outcome is quite serene but also never completely comfortable, with all kinds of barely expressed tension running under the surface. This is music that may require some acclimation, but it is very rewarding at the end.