Dom Minasi's new CD The Vampire's Revenge is out and availble at different outlets.
Dom Minasi is a rare figure in today's world of jazz--a virtuoso guitarist who rejected commercial success in order to pursue his own creative impulses. Even rarer is Minasi's penchant as a leader for subsuming his own individual voice to enhance a group sound. The Vampire's Revenge is a landmark recording in an illustrious, multifaceted career and should do much to bring greatly deserved recognition to its creator as a composer who is making thoroughly modern music that is uniquely his own. Minasi's music is compelling and reveals itself to be intelligent and exciting--extremely demanding, perhaps even difficult at times--but ultimately exceptionally rewarding.
All Music Guide's Rick Anderson accurately described Minasi's compositions and arrangements as “inventive and challenging" and “sharp and incisive," all qualities that are abundantly evident on The Vampire's Revenge, which features ten Minasi pieces inspired by his appreciation of Anne Rice's popular novels, The Vampire Chronicles. Joining Minasi's regular trio of Ken Filiano-bass/electronics and drummer Jackson Krall on the various tracks is a revolving cast drawn from the cream of the new music scene--multitalented improvisers whom the composer had specifically in mind when writing many of the pieces that feature their distinctive voices. Clarinetist Perry Robinson, pianists Borah Bergman and Matthew Shipp, trumpeters Herb Robertson and Paul Smoker, saxophonists Joe McPhee, Sabir Mateen, Joe Giardullo, Mark Whitecage, John Gunter, Ras Moshe and Blaise Siwula, string players Jason Kao Hwang, Tomas Ulrich and Francois Grillot and vocalist Carol Mennie, along with conductor, Byron Olson, all contribute to the success of making Minasi's marvelously imaginative music a reality on this very special two disc set.
Minasi displayed a remarkable arranger's touch on his first CDM trio dates Takin' The Duke Out and Goin' Out Again. With his subsequent quartet/quintet albums Time Will Tell and Quick Response he also demonstrated his considerable compositional capabilities. On The Vampire's Revenge the guitarist/composer/arranger takes a quantum leap forward and reveals a visionary concept for creating music for larger ensembles. Minasi's music reflects the ground breaking innovations of his early influences --John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Cecil Taylor--and in a uniquely personal fashion builds upon the subsequent developments in avant garde jazz by the likes of Steve Lacy, Sun Ra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. The Vampire's Revenge confirms that Dom Minasi is indeed an important leader in new music today--one who is more than capable of ushering the art form into the future. ~ Russ Musto
Download two free tracks from previous Don Minasi releases at AAJ.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
