By J Hunter J Hunter View Profile | Contact Me CD/DVD Reviewer Joined AAJ in 2006 Once a deejay, now a writer, and the future... is so uncertain. More about J.

Comments (2)

Jazz is like the Constitution—a living thing that evolves with the times. If that weren’t true, every player would sound like Louis Armstrong. And while there are more than a few people who would be good with that, obsessively repeating and archiving past triumphs only serves to preserve this music. To keep the genre alive and on any kind of growth curve, it needs continual infusions of new blood and fresh ideas.

This is the up side of Frank LoCrasto’s debut, When You’re There. A graduate of New York’s New School, LoCrasto is a Presidential Scholar of the Arts and a past winner of the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Award. The 23-year old Texas native has played piano for Joe Lovano, Greg Osby and Chris Cheek, among other notables. (Cheek returns the favor here, contributing evocative work on tenor and soprano sax.)

So LoCrasto is not a newbie, by any means. He had enough of a resume to get signed to MaxJazz, and he’s brought his own ideas to the table here: except for a collaboration with vocalist Becca Stevens on the ballet-like meditation “Gathered Impression,” everything on When You’re There comes entirely from LoCrasto’s pen. For me, this recording is all about composition. The driving “New Beginnings,” the mournful ballad “Troubling Differences” and the opening bossa “Until Dusk” show LoCrasto has loads of potential as a writer and arranger, and he's not afraid to go outside the box.

Here’s the down side: It’s not clear whether LoCrasto wants to be Bill Evans or Gil Evans. He combines a romantic playing style with a background sense that borders on the classical, brocading the disc with instrumental combinations that might seem like good ideas, but only complicate matters at the end of the day. On the suite “Overture/The Rathskellar/Interlude,” the third movement begins with a bassoon solo by Alden Barta. My immediate reaction was, “What am I listening to? Peter and the Wolf?” By seemingly trying to prove how smart he is—LoCrasto uses a quote from Aldous Huxley as the disc’s mission statement—he frequently outsmarts himself.

While LoCrasto’s support playing is quite fine, his solo skills are at best rudimentary, and overreaching kills him here, too; again, ideas that start out as valid concepts tend to either peter out or fall flat, leaving the listener unfulfilled. Also, his soloists also seem too restrained, seemingly unwilling to outshine their leader. This wastes some exceptional foundation work by bassist Ben Street and drummer Tommy Crane. Instead of chasing either Evans, LoCrasto should take a cue from Blakey, who wasn’t afraid to let his players have the spotlight.

When You’re There is a worthy first effort from an artist who's out to put his own mark on this genre. While that’s both laudable and exciting, Frank LoCrasto needs to learn that complex music isn’t always interesting music, and keeping it simple isn’t necessarily stupid.

Frank LoCrasto at All About Jazz.
Visit Frank LoCrasto on the web.

Track listing: Until Dusk; Jaded Brotherhood; Jordan; Overture/The Rathskellar/Interlude; The Metaphysics of Self-Deception; New Beginnings; Troubling Differences; Gathered Impression; Going Home.

Personnel: Frank LoCrasto: piano, glockenspiel; Chris Cheek: tenor sax, soprano sax; Mike Moreno: acoustic guitar, electric guitar; Ben Street: bass; Tommy Crane: drums; Richard Boukas: acoustic guitar (1); Becca Stevens: vocals (8); Kelly Watson: flute, alto flute; Ben Kono: oboe, English horn; Jeremy Viner: clarinet; Alden Banta: bassoon; Cornelius Dufalo: violin; Zach Brock: violin; Nicole Federici: viola; Chris Hoffman: cello; Daniel Barnage: conductor.

Style: Straightahead/Mainstream/Bop/Hard Bop/Cool
Published: February 27, 2007

Post your comment on:
Frank LoCrasto's When You're There

Michael Gothard wrote on 2007-02-28 21:51:29: Well, first off, I have to agree that Mr. LoCrasto's composition skills are superb and he is making the music his own, that is, something that makes a statement about who he is. On the other hand I have to disagree with Mr. Hunters statement that the downside is that "It’s not clear whether LoCrasto wants to be Bill Evans or Gil Evans." The upside is that he is not either of them, and that is what makes someone a great composer and performer. Of course his influences will be seen, but taking that next step of creating a style and voice that is his own is comendable. No great artists were remembered for how well they imitated the greats before them, but were remembered for how creatively they extrapolated what was done before and changed the direction of jazz music. Furthermore, I think that Mr. LoCrasto's skills as a soloist are very versitle, making introspective statements on the melodies and ideas of this album. This can be seen in his solos on Jaded Brotherhood and After Dusk. The two compositions are very different in terms of mood and each of his solos demonstrate this versitility. The first being driven by the energy of the rythym section creating insightful lines and showing the mastery of his left hand, while the later, having a laidback latin feel, creates beautiful harmonies, reminiscent of Joao Gilberto. The others members, seem to understand the music for what it says and instead of holding back they add to its lyricism. In my review of J. Hunter's review, he contradicts himself by asking more from the soloists, yet at the same time simplicity. Also he completely misinturprets the music, which acutally is fairly simple and accessible to the listener. What does Hunter have to say about the music of Greg Osby or Kurt Rosenwinkel?   Robert Washington wrote on 2007-03-02 17:37:13: I'm not entirely sure when this disease first reared is disfigured countenance; critics thinking they have some idea of how music works. The comparison of Mr. LoCrasto and either Bill or Gill Evans, is entirely worthless. As usual, this seems to be another misguided and shallow observation. When you look at this music on a very base, surface level, you might say "Golly gee willikers, this album has strings and woodwinds, it sounds like Gill Evans!" Or, "Great Oden's raven, it sounds like classical music!" This is obviously the opinion of someone who is untrained in the musical arts. In conversation, people who are ignorant about a given subject will often mention any names that they have a passing familiarity with. This usually serves to cover up their glaring inadequacies. This seems to be the case with this review. Explain to us how it wounds like Gill Evans. And not with the typical, metaphorical, pseudo-intellectual jargon that critics of all arts are notorious for. Intelligent, real, and useful observations would be greatly appreciated. For instance, perhaps you could give us an example of how the orchestration is similar in a certain section. Or how the harmony or counterpoint is related to the person you are comparing it to. Perhaps someday critics will understand how very little value their opinion will always have, unless they really decide to study music on a much, much deeper level.

Signup & post a comment!
Read more comments (2)

More articles by J Hunter

Fortuna
Let's Party: Anthony Wilson Trio, Joel Frahm &...
No "Vanity" Here: Jackie Ryan, Denise Donatelli,...
Music Update
I Talking Now

	George Garzone Among Friends
	Charles Tyler Charles Tyler Ensemble
	Rudi Mahall / Axel Dorner / Jan Roder / Uli Jennessen Die Enttausschung
	Fay Victor Ensemble The Freesong Suite
	Jon Irabagon with Mike Pride I Don't Hear Nothin' But the Blues
	Hank Jones / Oliver Jones Pleased To Meet You