Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Drew Gress: Spin & Drift

Drew Gress: Spin & Drift

By Jim Santella
July 1, 2001
View read count

Representing jazz's modern mainstream, Drew Gress' quartet album swings, while offering – at the same time – unexpected changes of direction. Saxophones, piano, bass and drums interact with a spirit that implies reserves of energy. That motion is sitting there, rocking, and waiting for a chance to explode. Fortunately, this veteran quartet knows how to harness the energy. Uri Caine provides exciting dances up and down the piano's keyboard, with measured phrases that format his creative ideas. Tim Berne offers a thin, edgy tone that blends with piano and darts in and out of the quartet's improvised counterpoint. His classical approach to the alto saxophone carries a warm feeling that serves to unify the ensemble. Gress and Tom Rainey interact as partners in this foursome; they're not here simply to provide a rhythm. Instead, each of the four artists accepts equal roles.

Drew Gress, 42, grew up in the Baltimore/Washington DC area and now works out of New York. While he considers his East Coast environment conducive to an aggressive style, Spin & Drift cannot be described as either hard-bop-derived or avant-garde experimentation. Rather, his band, Spin & Drift, communicates variety through tension and release. It's natural. From their rompin' and stompin' "Sledmouth Chronicles," to Gress' lyrical solo on "Pang," the session absorbs the listener because of its unpredictable changes and comfortable ease of transition.

Track Listing

Disappearing, Act 1; Torque; It Was After Rain That the Angel Came; Jet Precipice; Aquamarine; The Sledmouth Chronicles; Here, at the Bottom of the Sky; Pang; New Leaf.

Personnel

Drew Gress

bass

Drew Gress: acoustic bass, pedal steel guitar (6); Tim Berne: alto saxophone, baritone saxophone (1, 7, 9); Uri Caine: piano; Tom Rainey: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Spin & Drift | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Premonition Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Meet Duane Eubanks
< Previous

Mats Gustafsson / Paul Lovens Duo & ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

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.