Download - Downbeat

Blindfold Test
With The Si O Si Quartet and Taking The Soul For A Walk (Dafnison),
Dafnis Prieto has reinforced his stature as one of the superior drummercomposers
of his generation and as an innovator in late-’90s post-timba
Cuban jazz. This is his first Blindfold Test.
E.J. Strickland
“Asante (For The Tribes Of Ghana)” (from In This Day, StrickMusik, 2009)
Strickland, drums; Marcus Strickland, tenor saxophone; Jaleel Shaw, alto
saxophone; Luis Perdomo, piano; Hans Glawischnig, bass.
It’s nice to hear a 6/8 pattern really light. Luis Perdomo? It is Luis, but not
his record? David Sánchez? Miguel Zenón? Then I can’t recognize it. The
drumming and percussion support the tune, which is a vamp, kind of tender.
I like it, but it sounds like an excuse to improvise—there’s a specific
idea of what the horns do against the pattern, but no real “B” section or
sophisticated compositional elements. And there’s a lot of improvising,
nice trading by the horns. 3 1 /2 stars.
Yaron Herman
“Isobel” (from Muse, Sunnyside, 2009) Herman, piano; Matt Brewer, bass;
Gerald Cleaver, drums.
Very groovy, the drummer and the bassist, who has a great sound. Is it
Jason Moran on piano? Jean-Michel Pilc? Whoever it is, the pianist is
very together: It’s a very rhythmic line, and the trio is locked in. The bass
drum is tuned with the skin loose. I can’t think of anyone who plays this
style that [uses] this kind of bass drum. The drummer sounded great, very
supportive of the tune. 4 stars.
Arturo Stable
“Call” (from Call, Origen, 2009) Stable, percussion; Francisco Mela, drums; Javier
Vercher, tenor saxophone; Aruán Ortiz, piano; Edward Perez, bass.
It’s a blues form on top of a bata rhythm. It sounds like a Coltrane tune,
with a 7/4 pattern on top of the 6/8 bass line. I like the tension of contradiction
that comes from this loose sound with the drummer on top of the
batas, and free adventures in the soloing—but not in the tune—over the
steady rhythm. David Sánchez comes to mind, but it doesn’t sound like
David. 3 1 /2 stars.
Dave Douglas
“Bowie” (from Spirit Moves, Greenleaf, 2009) Douglas, trumpet; Luis Bonilla,
trombone; Vincent Chancey, French horn; Marcus Rojas, tuba; Nasheet
Waits, drums.
That’s Dave Douglas’ brass and drumset thing. So Nasheet is playing
drums. Nasheet always looks for polyrhythmic possibilities, playing two
sounds simultaneously, like the bass drum and the snare drum. It’s very
compositional. Everything was arranged until the trombone solo comes in
over the swing. The experimental thing with the tuba reminds me of working
with Henry Threadgill. It sounds very European, connected to the
music you see in the parks in Europe, like open parade music. 4 stars.
The Monterey Quartet
“Treachery” (from The Monterey Quartet: Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz
Festival, Concord, 2009) Eric Harland, drums; Dave Holland, bass; Gonzalo
Rubalcaba, piano; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone.
That’s Chris Potter, and it’s the band with Dave Holland, Gonzalo and
Eric Harland. Eric is one of my favorite young drummers. I like how he
uses different textures and techniques to interact with what is happening
in the moment. He can play very open or very straight. I like Gonzalo
here, but lately I always want more from him, more digging in on an
emotional level. Chris Potter is expressing himself here, putting it out.
Obviously, Gonzalo plays great piano, but lately I think his playing deals
more with conceptualized things and ideas. I miss the old Gonzalo sometimes.
4 1 /2 stars.
82 DOWNBEAT April 2010
Dafnis
Prieto
By Ted Panken
Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez
“Free Latin” (from Italuba, Pimienta, 2004) Hernandez, drums, composer; Ivan
Bridon Napoles, keyboards; Daniel Martinez Izquierdo, bass; Amik Guerra, trumpet.
El Negro. He uses big drums, and the drum sounds big! Sounds like a
Cuban band. The tune itself reminds me of the sound of jazz in Cuba in
the late ’80s, an influence from Chick Corea, Gonzalo [Rubalcaba]’s thing
of using the keyboards, having the same pulse but incorporating different
things with the bass and the drums in different places than the melody line,
and sometimes joining them together. 4 stars.
John Escreet
“Somewhere Between Dreaming And Sleeping” (from Consequences, Posi-Tone,
2008) Escreet, piano; David Binney, alto saxophone; Ambrose Akinmusire,
trumpet; Matt Brewer, bass; Tyshawn Sorey, drums.
I love the drummer. Very sensitive, very swinging. Sounds like Jeff
“Tain” Watts. It’s not? This drummer has that powerful, aggressive sound
like Tain. I liked how the piece unfolded, the different sections, and the
surprise factor. The beginning reminded me of Muhal Richard Abrams. I
don’t know if the drummer is Tyshawn or Marcus Gilmore, but I think it’s
one of them. They are very different, but certain music makes you feel
more aggressive, and then it becomes confusing to identify who it is by the
sound. It’s Tyshawn? 4 1 /2 stars.
Vijay Iyer
“Smoke Stack” (from Historicity, ACT, 2009) Iyer, piano; Stephan Crump, bass;
Marcus Gilmore, drums.
Very Monk-influenced playing. The three musicians work beautifully
together. It’s hard to tell whether it’s Vijay or Jason Moran—they sometimes
occupy a mutual place. But I think the drummer is Marcus Gilmore,
which means it’s Vijay’s record. The tune is very involved, and the drummer
really has to be on top of it to make it happen—Marcus is very supportive.
I really like his drumming, and I liked the piece. 4 stars. DB
The “Blindfold Test” is a listening test that challenges the featured artist to discuss and identify
the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings. The artist is then asked
to rate each tune using a 5-star system. No information is given to the artist prior to the test.
JACK VARTOOGIAN/FRONTROWPHOTOS