Dirigo Rataplan II
| Dirigo Rataplan II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Devin Gray , Michael Formanek , Ellery Eskelin & Dave Ballou | ||||
|
Publication |
||||
| Label (s) | Rataplan Records | |||
|
Format (s) |
CD |
|||
|
Title (number) |
10 |
|||
| occupation | ||||
|
Studio (s) |
Systems Two, Brooklyn |
|||
|
||||
Dirigo Rataplan II is a jazz album by Devin Gray , Michael Formanek , Ellery Eskelin and Dave Ballou . The recordings, made in 2017 in Studio Systems Two, Brooklyn, were released in September 2018 on Devin Gray's own label Rataplan Records.
background
Dirigo Rataplan , a phrase loosely translated from Latin or French "I lead a drum sound", is a group led by drummer Devin Gray, which includes three other musicians with ties to Baltimore, saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, trumpeter Dave Ballou and the bassist Michael Formanek. In 2012 the formation recorded their self-titled debut album, and six years later they released the follow-up album Dirigo Rataplan II .
Track list
- Devin Gray, Michael Formanek, Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou: Dirigo Rataplan II (Rataplan Records RR 001)
- Congrulently 3:28
- Rollin 'Thru Town 4:25
- Trends Of Trending 5:47
- Texicate 6:33
- The Wire 5:32
- Quantum Cryptology 6:38
- What We Learn from Cities 6:33
- The Feeling of Healing (for Steve Grover) 6:55
- Intrepid Travelers 5:28
- Micro Dosage 2:30
reception
According to Jerome Wilson, who gave the album four stars in All About Jazz , the band played with a wild inside-outside style based on strong melodies and rhythms, but still offering plenty of room for fiery improvisation. "Some of the tracks are based on heavy, rumbling bass lines from Formanek and rustling drum accents from Gray, with Ballou and Eskelin hovering over them either together or separately." Michael Formanek's bass is the secret weapon of this session, says the author. groaning pivot point that gives shape and weight to the improvisational flights of his partners. ”He also got a well-deserved spotlight in his leathery solo in“ Travelers ”. Wilson sums up the entire quartet with a free-roaming daring, which is reminiscent of some bands by Ornette Coleman or Henry Threadgill . "This is a soaring, breathtaking piece of jazz by four musicians at the peak of their playing."
Ken Micallef wrote in JazzTimes that drummer Gray acts like a great concoction of Han Bennink and Ed Blackwell . As a composer, Gray combines “serious subjects with cheering improvisations. Regardless of the mood or groove, there is a lightness and a feeling of quiet solemnity in every melody. "
According to Alexander Dubovoy, who reviewed the album on the Free Jazz Blog, each of these musicians is a consummate improviser, and this band could easily have produced a compelling, freely improvised album. Where Dirigo Rataplan II shines, however, is the interplay of improvisation and Gray's pronounced compositional sensitivity. Although some of the pieces on the album more or less followed a jazz formula of melody-improvisation-melody, the author said they navigated this structure in new and different ways. In Dubovoy's opinion, Gray's melodic compositions reach their climax in “Congruently”, “Trends of Trending” and “The Wire”. have a long history in jazz, but their history remains somewhat marginal, perhaps partly because it is difficult to compose music that maintains cohesion in this format. In Eskelin, Formanek and Ballou, Gray has found players who can make his compositions shine despite or perhaps because of the format - the quartets without chordal instruments. The result is music that is both catchy and complicated, carefully composed and yet open through and through.
Derek Taylor wrote in Dusted that the drummer's ten pieces, with less than an hour of music, each provided a large and admirable array of ideas. Dave Ballou, Ellery Eskelin and Michael Formanek are recognized masters of their instruments and strong musical personalities who have shown their mutual trust through the respect and commitment they show towards Gray's deceptively sophisticated designs.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Jerome Wilson: Devin Gray, Michael Formanek, Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou: Dirigo Rataplan II. All About Jazz, September 21, 2018, accessed on June 1, 2020 .
- ↑ Devin Gray, Michael Formanek, Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou: Dirigo Rataplan II at Discogs
- ↑ Ken Micallef: Devin Gray, Michael Formanek, Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou: Dirigo Rataplan II. JazzTimes, October 8, 2018, accessed June 1, 2020 .
- ↑ Alexander Dubovoy: Devin Gray, Michael Formanek, Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou: Dirigo Rataplan II. Free Jazz Blog, November 12, 2018, accessed on May 27, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Derek Taylor: Devin Gray, Michael Formanek, Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou: Dirigo Rataplan II. Dusted, August 5, 2018, accessed on May 27, 2020 .