Grit & Grace, due out October 20, 2023 via Sunnyside, features new compositions by women composers along with Wharton’s first original works and bold arrangements.
“Jennifer Wharton’s Bonegasm blows the doors wide open for the bass trombone. The horn itself may play from the bottom, but it can certainly operate at the top of the heap.” – Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
“[Bonegasm] captivates as it ranges between the intimate and the orchestral with plenty of whimsy… that makes listening to a bunch of low notes immensely enjoyable.” – Hrayr Attarian, Jazziz
In a 2019 article, Forbes Magazine decreed that the two characteristics women need most to thrive in the business world are “grit and grace.” Bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton has exemplified those qualities in the music she’s made with her brass-forward band Bonegasm since its 2019 debut. How else to explain Wharton’s venture into improvising and bandleading after years in the classical world, big band sections and Broadway orchestra pits? Or her dedication to giving the oft-neglected trombone – and more to the point, her own bass trombone – its place in the spotlight? And not least, that she’s done so with a tricky balance of elegant arrangements, bold musicianship, and audacious wit?
