Jazz Articles

Tobias Gebb & Unit 7: free at last

by David A. Orthmann
June 11, 2010

Tobias Gebb's prodigious talents as a composer, arranger, bandleader, and drummer run throughout the admirable free at last. A positive, good-natured quality pervades the project. Despite the disc's eight tracks being relatively short, each is substantial and complete unto itself.

Gebb writes distinctive melodies, clothes them in a variety of forms, and arranges the material in imaginative and enjoyable ways. His own “Spitball" moves between funk and medium tempo swing, while the standard, “You Don't Know ...

Tobias Gebb & Unit 7: free at last

by Terrell Kent Holmes
April 10, 2010

On free at last, drummer Tobias Gebb shows great depth and maturity as a composer and arranger. This recording is a balanced mix of originals and standards, from various musical genres, combined to produce rich sounds and vibrant colors. Veteran altoist Bobby Watson and young tenor lion Stacy Dillard take star turns on the brisk “Blues for Drazen," one of several tunes with a hard bop pedigree. Joel Frahm's gritty tenor, Joe Magnarelli's fluttering trumpet and Mark ...

Tobias Gebb and Unit 7: free at last

by Woodrow Wilkins
March 29, 2010

Like a bird uncaged, drummer Tobias Gebb expresses himself without restraint on free at last, recorded with Unit 7. The collection is a mix of original songs and covers. Gebb is a freelance musician on the New York scene. Having appeared on recordings with Lenny Kravitz and Donald Fagen, Gebb has also served as a leader with the piano-bass-drums group Trio West, and a larger ensemble known as Unit 7. For free at last, Unit 7 is actually ...

Tobias Gebb & Unit 7: free at last

by Dan Bilawsky
February 8, 2010

New York-based drummer Tobias Gebb assembled a stellar cast for free at last. The format of Unit 7 follows the instrumentation tradition of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The three-horn frontline and three-man rhythm section allows this group to sound bigger than it is at times, while also having the flexibility to make things more intimate. Gebb covers plenty of stylistic ground over the course of these eight songs and he wastes no time getting started.“Blues for Drazen" begins ...

Tobias Gebb & Trio West: An Upper West Side Story

by Michael P. Gladstone
June 28, 2008

Showing that its debut album Trio West Plays Holiday Songs (Yummy House, 2007) was no fluke, leader Tobias Gebb begins this album with a direct homage to Ahmad Jamal on his medley of “Poinciana/What Time Is It?" Not only does pianist Eldad Zvulun employ Jamal's idiosyncratic use of spacing but drummer Gebb is all a-chatter with Vernell Fournier-like flourishes, notably at the start and finish of this tune but also throughout the presentation. Zvulun is given another chance to shine ...

Tobias Gebb & Trio West: An Upper West Side Story

by Woodrow Wilkins
June 13, 2008

After a 1997 Christmas recording debut, Trio West is back. This time, An Upper West Side Story features the threesome of Tobias Gebb on drums, Neal Miner on bass and Eldad Zvulun on piano, with a little help from their friends, saxophonist Joel Frahm and vocalist Champian Fulton. Trio West plays extensively on the New York jazz scene. Its members have shared the stage or studio with a wide range of artists, including Cab Calloway, Steely Dan's Donald ...

An Upper West Side Story: Tobias Gebb & Trio West

by Jerry D'Souza
May 17, 2008

After an acclaimed and successful outing with their debut CD Trio West Plays Holiday Songs (Yummy House Records, 2006), Trio West is back with An Upper Westside Story, a recording that should bring them up front and center once again. Tobias Gebb (drummer, composer, arranger) has a knack for stimulating the progression of through-composed pieces with his arrangements. The trio as a collective gives a tune subtle shapes and dimensions that are shaped by a whim. The transition can be ...

Trio West: Trio West Plays Holiday Songs

by Woodrow Wilkins
December 3, 2007

Every year, music listeners are inundated with “new releases of Christmas music. Invariably, these celebrations include a collection of songs everyone has heard scores of times. So what sets one version of “Silent Night apart from another? The arrangement. Enter Tobias Gebb, drummer, arranger, producer and composer. Gebb, a native of the west side of Manhattan, is the leader of Trio West. His companions are Eldad Zvulun on piano and Neal Miner on bass. Trio West plays ...

Trio West: Trio West Plays Holiday Songs

by Jerry D'Souza
November 24, 2007

Christmas is not only a time for goodwill, it is also the time for a slew of recordings that rework the music of the season. The music has been recorded in every conceivable genre and the beat still goes on. And now, Trio West offers their version of eleven tunes.

Eldad Zvulun (piano), Tobias T. Gebb (drums) and Neal Miner (bass) are based in New York. Gebb, their leader, was born in the west side of Manhattan and, ...

Trio West: Trio West Plays Holiday Songs

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 19, 2007

It isn't every new release that provides nostalgia without even playing it. Trio West's record label, Yummy House, is an exact look-alike of Columbia vinyl releases circa 1960. Without having the actual Columbia logo, this album has the same distinctive red, white and black label with the Columbia “stereo arrow" displayed. I felt like I was back in 1960 watching the platters spin and listening to The Kirby Stone Four or Dave Brubeck Quartet.

Although the group has ...