1. MOVEMENT AND LOCATION (arr. Paul Sanho Kim)
Punch Brothers
2. MANGAS
Curtis Stewart and Elektra Stewart
3. SLOW BURN
Jessica Meyer
4. THE RED SHAWL
Komitas
5. SPRING
Komitas
6. OH NAZAN
Komitas
7. CON UN NUDO EN LA GARGANTA
Pedro Giraudo
8. COLLECTIVE WISDOM
Michael Gilberston
9. APARTMENTS
Jackson Greenberg
Sybarite5’s first studio album in five years, Collective Wisdom turns the page with new improvisations, electronics, and world premiere commissions. Reborn out of the pandemic, the recording introduces three new members—Suliman Tekalli, violin; Caeli Smith, viola; Laura Andrade, cello, who join original members Louis Levitt on double bass; and Sami Merdinian on violin.
From the opening track from Punch Brothers to Mangas by Curtis Stewart featuring Grecco-Reggae inspired improvisations, to the multifaceted electronic world of Jackson Greenberg’s Apartments, to the complex emotions expressed in Gilbertson’s titular track Collective Wisdom, Sybarite5 digs deep into vulnerability and virtuosity. Rounding out the album are heartfelt never heard before renditions of Komitas & Pedro Giraudo that pays homage to Sami Merdinian’s Armenian and Argentinian roots, alongslide recognition of the past & present with Jessica Meyer’s Slow Burn.
Sybarite5 is
Sami Merdinian, violin
Suliman Tekalli, violin
Caeli Smith, viola
Laura Andrade, cello
Louis Levitt, double bass
Executive Producers Cooke Harvey and Louis Levitt. Produced by Ryan Streber, Louis Levitt, and Paula Mlyn. Engineered by Charles Mueller. Mastered by Andrew Bove. Recorded at Oktaven Audio, Mt. Vernon, NY, May 2023. Funded in part by a grant from the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. Cover art and design by Haeg Design.