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Jazz Articles about Lou Grassi

About Lou Grassi

138

Album Review

Lou Grassi, Tom Varner, Ron Horton, Tomas Ulrich: Neo Neo

by David Adler
January 1, 2001

Neo Neo is a collaborative project conceived by drummer Lou Grassi, with Tom Varner on French horn, Ron Horton on trumpet, and Tomas Ulrich on cello. The recording is extremely dry and acoustic in texture, with an unusually quiet recording level — all in keeping with the philosophy of Creative Improvised Music Projects, a label that insists on bringing us as realistic a reproduction of the live performances as possible. The overall feel of this quartet is not at all ...

120

Album Review

Marshall Allen with Lou Grassi's PoBand: PoZest

by Glenn Astarita
July 1, 2000

Seventy-six year old alto saxophonist, flutist Marshall Allen is well known for his lengthy association with the late bandleader Sun Ra; yet his recorded legacy as a session musician/journeyman is rather sparse. However, on PoZest, Allen and New York area drummer Lou Grassi along with artists who represent multiple generations of technical acumen and jazz wisdom coalesce for this rather hearty set featuring trumpeter Paul Smoker, trombonist Steve Swell, veteran bassist Wilber Morris and clarinetist Perry Robinson. Here, Lou Grassi ...

144

Album Review

Lou Grassi - Tom Varner - Ron Horton - Tomas Ulrich: Neo Neo

by Glenn Astarita
June 1, 2000

On Neo Neo, we are presented with an East Coast-based modern jazz power quartet featuring musicians who are equally proficient at skirting the edges of jazz theory or weaving mainstream ideologies into the “new” jazz approach, which unto itself elicits broad connotations. With this recent release, drummer Lou Grassi combines the talents of trumpeter Ron Horton, french hornist Tom Varner and cellist Tomas Ulrich for a series of pieces that meld modern jazz improvisation with (neo) classical overtones and bluesy ...

116

Album Review

Grassi/ Varner/ Horton/ Ulrich: Neo Neo

by Derek Taylor
May 1, 2000

With a pair of notable recent releases the CIMP team has returned their attentions to improvising groups who are experimenting in chamber jazz structures and instrumentation. Several earlier releases in the label’s catalog have explored this musical terrain with great success and it’s wonderful to see more music in this vein being brought to light. The players here explore the harmonic possibilities afforded by brass, strings and percussion and each is an undisputed master on his instrument. Varner has almost ...

150

Album Review

Lou Grassi's Po Band: Mo' Po

by Derek Taylor
February 1, 2000

Grassi’s star is on the rise. As one of the most frequently recorded drummers for CIMP he’s found a nurturing avenue to communicate his abundant abilities. Listeners attuned to this handful of releases have been met by a mature musician whose only limits on his music are the number of hours in the day that he can devote to his craft. This disc is several years old and in the interim since it’s release Grassi has taken part in a ...

112

Album Review

Rob Brown-Lou Grassi Quartet: Scratching the Surface

by Derek Taylor
December 1, 1999

The combination of Rob Brown and Assif Tsahar is quickly becoming my pairing of choice for reliably conceived improvisational brilliance. On the several recordings the two have graced together to date they demonstrate a degree of rapport that borders on the supernatural. Reference their unbelievable conversations on William Parker's “Posieum Pendasem" on the FMP label for a slice of what I'm alluding to. This date finds the two earlier in their associations and thankfully delivers another profusion of examples as ...