Sunlight Origami

is Sean Schulich & Vinnie Martucci

Sean Schulich

From Jazzfest in NOLA to the Kennedy Center in D.C. to the Blue Note and Carnegie Hall in NYC, Sean lights it up every time he takes the stage. As a genre shape-shifter, Sean has performed with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Funky Meters, Bernie Worrell, Charles Neville, Jephte Guillaume and the list goes on. Reviews describe his playing as “staggering”, “audacious” and “mind-boggling”. His experience as a music educator ranges from being named a Philadelphia Orchestra Teaching Artist to lecturing at Middlebury College. Sean was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Woodstock and now resides in NYC. He earned his BA from Tufts and his MM from Yale.

Vinnie Martucci

Vinnie Martucci has had an exciting career in music and chances are you’ve already heard him in concert, at the theater, or on recordings, television or radio. He has toured extensively on the international jazz festival circuit as co-leader of the Jazz Fusion Quartet “The Dolphins” with Dan Brubeck. As an arranger, accompanist he’s performed with Laurel Masse (Manhattan Transfer), Eileen Fulton (Award winning star of As the World Turns), and Blues artist Rory Block. He’s recorded or toured with many artists, including Graham Parker, Livingston Taylor, and others. As a composer, Vinnie co-wrote the music for the off-Broadway play “Clue, The Musical” with Galen Blum. Clue is one of the most in-demand musicals in regional theater today. And, if you watch TV; Vinnie has composed and produced numerous cable network TV themes for Lifetime, the Travel Channel, CNN, as well as daytime TV dramas “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light”. As a producer, engineer, and studio musician, he worked with composer Baikida Carroll on numerous productions for theater and television such as WGBH and notably the Tony award winning play “Having Our Say”. As a Professor of Jazz Studies at SUNY New Paltz, he has given clinics and master classes in Jazz and improvisation around the globe. Vinnie is delighted to be composing, recording, and performing with Sean, his partner in crime, exploring new directions in contemporary improvisation.

So, how did this all come about?

And, how are two people able to jointly improvise such varied, captivating material with such consistency?

It’s a good story, and it starts with a town. Woodstock, New York truly is a special place. The water flows with creativity. Some background…

Sean grew up in Woodstock, and in the early 1980’s when he was in high school, Vinnie moved to town from Boston to be a part of the incredible Woodstock music scene, performing, recording and teaching. One of his earliest students was Sean. And so, this is a relationship that began as student/teacher and has grown, years later, into that of friends and colleagues. Over the years, they reconnected from time to time, shared stories on their lives and music; and always left with a promise to get together at some point to make music. In 2019, it all lined up. Sean came to Vinnie’s studio in the Catskills, and they sat down to play for an hour…nothing said, no specific pieces, just to play and see if there was something worth pursuing. Now, you might expect that after not being in each other’s lives for years, it would’ve taken some time to establish trust and comfort. Sometimes, though, things just click. Vinnie was at the electric piano, and Sean sat directly across from him. It was immediate. As soon as they started - pure spontaneity - it felt right.

…and Sunlight Origami was born…although the name of the group is another story.

So, how is their flowing, intricate improvisation possible?

It always comes back to the simple notion of communication and, of course, there are nuances to this.

Here’s what Vinnie and Sean have to say about it:

Sean “Crucial to our collaboration is the willingness, no, the desire - the need - to listen. Seemingly so rare in these times. We both love to hear the other’s contributions and are as excited as the audience to find out where the story takes us. These are conversations, not debates. Dialogue. Can’t have a productive exchange if your mouth is open and your ears are closed. Open ears, open mind.”

Vinnie “We have very different musical backgrounds, different stories to tell, but our language and sense of what’s important to say in music intersects. And it’s that intersection, where we meet, that the magic occurs. We’re excited to wait and hear what each other is doing so we can build on it together. It’s thrilling to hear a complete piece of music unfold that didn’t exist before this moment. It’s as if we start playing music, and then the music starts playing us.”

So, yes, years have passed since we were student and teacher. In that time, each of us has had our journeys, and those journeys are told through our music.

We’re excited to share this material with you. In the spirit of harmony, enjoy!

Peace,
Sunlight Origami