| Jazz |
Patricia Brennan: The Composer Who Maps the Stars in Sound
On a quiet summer night, vibraphonist Patricia Brennan looked up at the stars, not simply to marvel at them, but to listen. Somewhere in the symmetry of the constellations, she imagined the outline of sound: notes orbiting one another, chords forming galaxies, melodies tracing invisible paths across the sky.
“I have always been fascinated by the night sky,” Brennan says. “I constantly wonder what lies beyond. Amid the vastness of the stars, there is a sense of balance and symmetry that captivates me, an order at the heart of chaos. The innate patterns of constellations have always stirred my curiosity, prompting me to explore how these celestial shapes might be translated into music.”
In an era when many artists are rethinking the role of their instruments, Brennan, much like her contemporary Sasha Berliner, though in an entirely different tonal universe, is reshaping the way we perceive the vibraphone. Her latest work is not just an album; it’s a meditation on creation itself. With a sound both intimate and immense, she invites listeners to contemplate beauty as something cosmic yet deeply personal.
Brennan’s recent project began, fittingly, in the summer of 2024, when she started experimenting with a method for turning constellations into musical structures. “I developed a process that allowed me to collect tonal and numerical data from constellations,” she explains. “I overlaid the shapes of constellations onto the circle of fifths, intrigued by the idea that their symmetry could yield musical symmetry, harmonic or melodic. The circle of fifths already embodies a highly symmetrical structure organizing pitch relationships. By mapping the constellations onto it, I discovered new relationships between pitches, chords, and even key signatures, relationships born entirely from the symmetry of the stars, not from traditional music theory.”
The result is music that feels both meticulously constructed and dreamlike, a balance of math and magic. To some, her work may recall the spiritual explorations of Olivier Messiaen or the sonic architectures of Pierre Henry, yet Brennan’s voice remains unmistakably her own. Her compositions ripple with curiosity, elegance, and quiet rebellion.
There’s an intellectual rigor behind her process, a blend of physics, symmetry, and improvisation, but to the listener, none of that is overt. What we hear instead is something luminous, serene, and alive. Brennan folds jazz, classical, and contemporary textures into her celestial palette, creating soundscapes that seem to hover between structure and freedom.
“As with my previous recordings,” she says, “I’ve sought to challenge conventional expectations about the role of each instrument and expand their sonic palette. For instance, the strings might assume a melodic, more traditional role, or a textural one, creating sonic layers. Ultimately, the ensemble’s sound world is shaped by the needs of each composition, and by my overarching vision for the project.”
In Brennan’s world, even silence has a pulse. Her music moves through moments of stillness, solitude, and cosmic wonder, echoing the quiet mystery of the sky she studies. The result is both cerebral and emotional, a dialogue between science and soul, geometry and grace.
Of all her works, this one feels the most personal, the most complete. Listening to it, one senses both humility and vastness, a reminder that beauty, like the stars, invites us not only to look upward, but inward.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, October 9th 2025
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Tour dates:
November 11 at Jazzfest, Berlin
December 1 at Roulette, NYC
Musicians :
Modney – violin
Pala Garcia – violin
Kyle Armbrust – viola
Michael Nicolas – cello
Sylvie Courvoisier – piano
Miles Okazaki – guitar
Kim Cass – bass
John Hollenbeck – drums and percussion
Arktureye – electronics
Patricia Brennan – vibraphone with electronics, marimba
Eli Greenhoe – conductor
Track Listing :
Antlia
Aquarius
Andromeda
Citlalli
Lyra
Aquila
When You Stare Into The Abyss