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Devin Gray: Dirigo Rataplan
by Eyal Hareuveni
Devin Gray is only 28 years old but, in his case, age does not mean much. Already, in his debut as a leader, this Brooklyn-based drummer proves himself a mature and resourceful composer and promising band leader, one who can lead any outfit with the energy and colors produced from his drum set, as the Latin-French ...
Michael Formanek: Small Places
by Hrayr Attarian
Bassist Michael Formanek's second release on ECM, Small Places, is an impassioned and gratifying album. Working with the same quartet as his first, The Rub and Spare Change (ECM, 2010), the music here has crystallized and matured further as the familiarity and camaraderie among the artists has grown. Although The Rub was freer ...
Michael Formanek: Small Places
by AAJ Italy Staff
A due anni da The Rub and Spare Change , sempre su ECM, ecco la nuova fatica di quell'autentica all stars che è il quartetto di Michael Formanek. Le attese, anche stavolta, non vanno certo deluse. I due brani iniziali, molto geometrici, per così dire appuntiti, sembrano in verità risentire qua e là di un minimo ...
Michael Formanek: Small Places
by Troy Collins
Small Places is bassist Michael Formanek's follow-up to 2009's The Rub and Spare Change, his critically acclaimed ECM debut as a leader. While Formanek's sophomore effort for the label features the same high profile sidemen, it differs in that the lineup rehearsed the material live before heading into the studio with producer Manfred Eicher, where every ...
Michael Formanek: Small Places
by John Kelman
It's no secret that pathological fans view every artist discovered as a new branch on an endlessly growing musical tree. It should come as no surprise, then, that labels--at least, those run by folks as pathological as the fans they hope to attract--operate with the same eye to discovery and expansion. ECM has, in its forty-plus ...
The Grand Canyon
by Mark Corroto
Flying over the Grand Canyon on your way to Las Vegas is one way to see that huge gash in the earth, and standing on the banks of the Colorado River is another. From one perspective depth cannot be appreciated, from the other the enormity of it all. Such is the case with modern improvised music. ...
Drummer-composer Devin Gray Leads A Band Of Master Musicians On His Career-Priming Debut Album, "Dirigo Rataplan," Due From Skirl Records April 10
This striking set of original Devin Gray compositions features the young drummer alongside saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, trumpeter Dave Ballou and bassist Michael Formanek. Drummer-composer Devin Gray, one of the most promising musicians on the New York scene, makes a dream of a debut as a leader with the album Dirigo Rataplan, to be released by Skirl ...
Devin Gray: Dirigo Rataplan
by Hrayr Attarian
Despite his youth, drummer Devin Gray has built an impressive resume and a well- deserved reputation as both an improviser and instrumentalist. His first CD as a leader, Dirigo Rataplan shows that he is not a slouch in the composition or bandleader department either. The record's title, loosely translated from Latin and French, ...
Tim Berne: Snakeoil
by Karl Ackermann
Tim Berne's previous contributions on the ECM label--guitarist David Torn's Prezens (ECM, 2005) and bassist Michael Formanek's The Rub and Spare Change (ECM, 2009)--represent some of his best work as a sideman. The alto saxophonist's first ECM release as a leader, Snakeoil, not only represents Berne at his best, but also at his most accessible. Berne's ...
Tim Berne: Snakeoil
by John Kelman
Tim Berne Snakeoil ECM Records 2012 When artists who've already built lengthy careers elsewhere over a period of years (sometimes decades) come to record for Germany's ECM Records, there is occasional trepidation amongst some of their longstanding fans. This is, after all, not just about facilitating the release of recordings; ...
