Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ryan Mackstaller: Nice Day For A Swim

98

Ryan Mackstaller: Nice Day For A Swim

By

View read count
Ryan Mackstaller: Nice Day For A Swim
Ryan Mackstaller proves two things on Nice Day For A Swim : he has sound technique, and he can write a pretty good tune. The guitarist spins lines that fall nice and easy, with some octave runs adding bonus points to his ruminations. The mood here is largely mellow and laid back. He does open up a bit with the comparatively upbeat “So What”, and the Latin bounce of “No Bailamos” provides a balmy comfort. The latter is catchy and Mackstaller spins delightful circles of melodic improvisation.

On almost all the tracks, the drums are recorded upfront and vie with the guitar, a trait that proves distracting. The extended “So You’re Leaving” proves a welcome exception. The arrangement leaves room and scope for Kolton to have his say, digging in with passion in to the old world charm of the melody while Mackstaller expands his vocabulary, bending and stretching notes. The one non-original track is Dave Douglas’s “Sam Hill”, perfect room for Mackstaller to probe and then invent his own intricacies.

Visit www.ryanmackstaller.com .

Personnel

Album information

Title: Nice Day For A Swim | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: Unknown label

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.