Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Andy Milne & Dapp Theory: New York, NY, August 26, 2012

2

Andy Milne & Dapp Theory: New York, NY, August 26, 2012

By

Sign in to view read count
Andy Milne & Dapp Theory
Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
Tompkins Square Park
New York, NY

August 26, 2012

Perfect weather and mild temperatures were the setting for an afternoon of jazz music at New York's Tompkins Square Park on occasion of the 20th edition of the Charlie Park Jazz Festival. Pianist Andy Milne's contemporary jazz project Dapp Theory was part of the lineup for the day, a quintet rounded out by reed player Aaron Kruziki, spoken word artist John Mooney, bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Kenny Grohowski.

The set began with "In The Mirror, Darkly," its Middle Eastern-inspired groove led by Kruziki on the traditional Armenian duduk. Moon then joined them and started doing a spoken-word loop based around the tune's title. The individual moments came mostly from Milne and Kruziki, who switched to a clarinet halfway through. The band immediately followed with "Body Bag," its more melodic structure allowing for more improvisational moments, while Moon did a jazz-oriented mix of hip-hop and spoken word vocals.

Grohowski and Tordini have a great lock together, as they demonstrated with Milne's "How and When Versus What," also featuring wordless vocals from Tordini, Kruziki and the bandleader. At one point, Milne and Kruziki began a flurry of notes, and it was up to the rhythm section to keep the sound together. The tune also featured an extended drum solo that was complemented by Milne's very percussive left hand on the piano. The set closed with the a groovy, up-tempo "After The Fact," centered on Milne's piano and Moon's spoken word.

The short set had many inspiring moments—Kruziki demonstrated great skill and an impressive array of instruments (from bass clarinet to soprano sax), and he repeatedly switched amongst them to find the perfect sound for each of the songs' sections. Milne's music has a very cinematic quality—one of the tunes on the set was written, in fact, for actor William Shatner's 2011 documentary The Captains—often blurring the line between more traditional and contemporary jazz.

Comments

Tags

Concerts

May 17 Fri

For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.
View events near New York City
Jazz Near New York City
Events Guide | Venue Guide | Local Businesses | More...

More

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.