Jazz Articles

Rob Garcia: Drum Solos For Dancers Only

by David A. Orthmann
December 18, 2018

There's more than enough artistry, craftsmanship and ingenuity in Rob Garcia's Drum Solos For Dancers Only to please the sedentary jazz aficionado. Although the thirteen tracks are intended to spur bodies in motion, his drumming merits scrutiny on purely musical terms. For the most part Garcia executes swinging rhythms much like the ones that drove the popular big bands of the 1930s and 40s and wraps them in themes that include symmetrical, easily recognizable song forms. Some of his compositions ...

Dead Composers Club: The Chopin Project

by Jerome Wilson
July 13, 2018

Saxophonist Noah Preminger has a reputation for exploring various genres outside jazz, like protest music and old-time delta blues. He has now formed a group called Dead Composers Club, with drummer Rob Garcia, to perform the works of various composers who are no longer with us. With Preminger's track record that could mean anybody from Duke Ellington to Leonard Cohen, but on this first effort they turn to classical composer Frederic Chopin. Playing Chopin seems to bring out ...

Dead Composers Club: The Chopin Project

by Geno Thackara
June 21, 2018

We have a pretty clear case of truth in advertising here; this top-notch recording offers exactly what it says on the tin. With the first installment of their Dead Composers Club project, Noah Preminger and Rob Garcia pay affectionate respect to a well-known oeuvre while still keeping it a long way from predictable. Fittingly enough for a jazz combo, the focus here is on Frédéric Chopin--an outspoken yet gentle soul who placed a key emphasis on improvisation. Though he didn't ...

Rob Garcia's Sangha: Heart's Fire

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 28, 2007

Drummer/percussionist/bandleader Rob Garcia's Heart's Fire, with his group Sangha, may initially be reminiscent of the music of Black Jazz Records, a 1970s-era label that focused on original soul-jazz, but further listens reveal something more.

The word “Sangha" is a Buddhist term that comes from the Three Treasures roughly translating to “the community of Truth seekers." The group is well represented by, alongside Garcia, flutist Michael Gentile, saxophonist Adam Kolker, guitarist Kenny Wessel, pianist Daniel Kelly and ...