Jazz Articles about David Ambrosio

David Ambrosio: Four On The Road

by Dan Bilawsky
September 17, 2018

On the surface it might not make much sense for a trio album to be dubbed Four On The Road, but there's a story behind that fuzzy math. In 2015, while on the road in Spain touring in support of his previous trio date, Gone (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2014), bassist David Ambrosio encountered the pixelated throwback designs of the famed street artist simply known as Invader. His creations became a constant companion during Ambrosio's group's time in the city ...

Grupo Los Santos: Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea

by Michael P. Gladstone
March 18, 2008

A spirited group of Latin jazz players called Grupos Los Santos offers its brand of music on Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea, which translates to What We Are What Will Be . The title of the group could also be loosely translated to mean that they are not playing a singular type of music but bring in many elements, tempo and cultural diversities.

When “Rumba in the Bronx" begins, it is with a percussive rumba ...

Grupo Los Santos: Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea

by Ernest Barteldes
February 5, 2008

Grupo Los Santos is a New York-based group that successfully looks at Latin and Brazilian jazz from an American point of view. The result is a mixed sonic bag that allows influences from funk and East Coast jazz into the music without compromising the general sound and feel. At their CD release concert at New York's The Jazz Standard in January, 2008, they opened with “Boogie Down Broder," a tune by saxophonist Paul Carlon dedicated to the ...

Grupo Los Santos: Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea

by David Miller
January 10, 2008

Grupo Los Santos is a unique band. Its music is Latin through and through, and yet the musicians come from varying backgrounds. Guitarist Pete Smith has played with Norah Jones, Donald Byrd and Andrew Hill; bassist Dave Ambrosio has recorded with Uzbek and Kyrgyz folk musicians; saxophonist Paul Carlon leads his own band, playing everything from straight-ahead jazz to funk; and drummer William “Beaver" Bausch rounds out the core quartet, and is probably the most experienced in Latin musics. What ...

Eri Yamamoto: Cobalt Blue

by Terrell Kent Holmes
October 15, 2006

Eri Yamamoto's two previous releases, Three Feel (Jane Street, 2003) and Colors (Jane Street, 2004), displayed her prowess as a pianist, composer and arranger. Her contribution to Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, Cobalt Blue, marks a significant change in her musical landscape. She's managed to step up her game further by adding new dimensions to her already formidable skills. “Melodica Chops is taken at an accelerated waltz tempo, and the use of space and time is strong throughout, ...

Eri Yamamoto: Cobalt Blue

by James Taylor
July 31, 2006

Cobalt Blue is not your average piano trio record, because Eri Yamamoto is not your average pianist. Nonetheless, throughout the record, we are greeted with familiar phrases in voices that remind us of old friends--Keith Jarrett with DeJohnette on standards, even a little Evans or Gershwin. Lots of McCoy Tyner. Yamamoto's music is equal parts playfully light and adventuresome.Yamamoto is Osaka-born and classically bred, never having played a lick of jazz until her arrival in New York City, ...

Eri Yamamoto: Cobalt Blue

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
July 11, 2006

When the Bad Plus covered Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit" a few years back, it sounded (a little) like a long-lost track from John Coltrane's rhythm section; thus did the Love Supreme virus erupt in the least likely of contexts. Pianist Eri Yamamoto's Cobalt Blue, a trio performance with bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi, has more than a touch of the virus, too. The trio sounds a little like the Bad Plus in that respect, ...