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Jazz Articles about David Virelles
David Virelles: Antenna
by Mark Sullivan
Pianist/composer David Virelles has combined his Cuban heritage with jazz before, most notably on his 2014 ECM leader debut Mbókò, which had the subtitle “Sacred Music for Piano, Two Basses, Drum Set and Biankoméko Abakuá." But this EP--which is being released exclusively on vinyl and digitally--takes things in an entirely new electro-acoustic direction. It's a dense sonic stew of improvisation and ritual rhythmic grooves, a sound both urban and traditional. “Binary" opens with the sound of Los Seres, ...
Continue ReadingDavid Virelles: Mbókò
by Luca Canini
Certo che ne ha di talento David Virelles. A quintali, a vagonate. Da affittare, vendere e persino subappaltare. Nell'ottobre del 2012, quando la Pi Recordings mise il timbro su Continuum, secondo disco del pianista di origini cubane, non furono in molti ad accorgersi che era nata una stella. Oggi, a due anni abbondanti di distanza, il numero degli euforici sostenitori è cresciuto in maniera esponenziale. Merito delle comparsate nel quartetto americano di Tomasz Stanko, nello strepitoso Double-Up ...
Continue ReadingDavid Virelles: Mboko
by John Kelman
For a relatively young musician nearing his 31st birthday in 2014, pianist David Virelles has managed to both garner a strong reputation and emerge with a singular voice in a relatively short period of time. While his early experiences in North America were within the confines of what might be expected from a Cuban expat, playing with Canadian saxophonist Jane Bunnett, whose career has been predicated on a decades-long fascination with the music of Virelles' native country, in recent years ...
Continue ReadingRoman Filiu: Musae
by AAJ Italy Staff
Dafnison Music è l'etichetta fondata dal batterista di origine cubana Dafnis Prieto allo scopo di presentare sul mercato discografico i propri lavori con pieno controllo su tutte le fasi della realizzazione. Con Musae questo processo viene messo a disposizione per la prima volta di un leader diverso, nella fattispecie il sassofonista, anch'esso di origini cubane, Roman Filiu. Gli appassionati lo ricorderanno negli Irakere di Chucho Valdes o recentemente con il progetto David Murray Plays Nat King Cole in Spanish, e ...
Continue ReadingDavid Virelles: Continuum
by Glenn Astarita
The Afro-Cuban connection is slightly transformed on nascent pianist David Virelles' inspirational trio set, featuring modern jazz luminaries, bassist Ben Street and drummer Andrew Cyrille. With his second solo outing and first for PI Recordings, the pianist has quickly surged to the forefront since migrating from Cuba to Canada, supporting distinguished saxophonist Jane Bunnett and receiving the first-ever Oscar Peterson Award. On “The Executioner," Virelles commingles traditional Latin jazz values with futuristic ideologies and benefits from Cuban ...
Continue ReadingDavid Virelles: Continuum
by John Sharpe
Pianist David Virelles adopts an unusual strategy for his second album and first on Pi Recordings. Eschewing the piano pyrotechnics which illuminated his debut, Motion (Justin Time, 2008), he opts for an exploration of Cuban folklore and its manifestation through poetry, storytelling and art. Inspired by Afro-Cuban religious practice, Virelles has created a set of episodic tone poems and throbbing rhythms. Consequently there are only glimpses of the talent which has seen him named as one of four young pianists ...
Continue ReadingDavid Binney: Barefooted Town
by Troy Collins
Since founding Mythology Records in 1998, tireless alto saxophonist David Binney has alternated between issuing ambitious projects on his own label and cutting casual blowing sessions for the Netherlands-based imprint Criss Cross. Continuing this pattern, Barefooted Town is Binney's second release of 2011, following the expansive Graylen Epicenter (Mythology). Despite the limited studio time afforded Binney's Criss Cross dates, this set's intricate originals have more in common with his elaborate Mythology-based endeavors than his usual stripped-down efforts for the Dutch ...
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