Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Daniel Garbin: Rising

12

Daniel Garbin: Rising

By

View read count
Daniel Garbin: Rising
Rising is the debut recording from Romanian-born guitarist Daniel Garbin who shows his versatility on the album's opening track (and title song) by performing it on his second instrument, the Indian sitar.

Although that is not merely a gimmick (he plays the sitar quite well), Garbin stays with guitar the rest of the way, leading his quintet through a program that consists of seven original compositions, four written by Garbin, the others co-authored by him with the album's co- producer, Simona Pop.

Alto saxophonist Scott Litroff flanks Garbin on the front line, while pianist Camila Cortina, bassist Eddy Khaimovich and drummer Brian Woodruff manage the rhythm. The group does the best it can to enliven a menu that is at times less than inspiring. Garbin's themes, and those co-written with Pop, generally stammer rather than spring forward, with not much meat on their bones. That leaves the impetus to Garvin and his mates, often with less than special results.

As noted, Garbin is a schooled musician (actually self-taught!) who plays quite well. On the other hand, he sounds much like many another guitarist who plays with similar technique and insight. Which is another way of saying he has yet to find a personal voice on the instrument. Much the same can be said for Litroff who gets the job done but would not be out of place on a smooth jazz recording. Among the soloists, it is Cortina who most often entices the ear.

As to the music, the gentle Brazilian-flavored "Simi's Bossa" has some pleasurable moments, and "Rolling Hills" flows neatly along, as does the rhythmic "Anomisericordo," while "DSD" leaves a pleasing taste before the quintet slips quietly "Into the Sunset."

The hope is that Garbin enjoys a long and productive musical career. But should that not happen, Garbin can always turn to his other career, that of Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Queensborough Community College, a part of the City College of New York (CUNY). It is an important position, and he did not have to pull any strings to earn it.

Track Listing

Rising; Simi's Bossa; Rolling Hills; Anomisericordo; DSD; Almost Forgotten- Like Satch; Into the Sunset.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Daniel Garbin: sitar; Camila Cortina: keyboard.

Album information

Title: Rising | Year Released: 2025 | Record Label: Toufette Records

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.