New on Palmetto
Romain Collin
The Calling
Produced by studio maestro Matt Pierson, who has helped shape albums by jazz’s most distinctive artists (including Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Taylor Eigsti and Mark Turner), The Calling features 10 Collin originals and his seductive arrangements of John Mayer's “Stop This Train” and Horace Silver's classic “Nica's Dream.”
Building upon his highly responsive trio with bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Kendrick Scott, Collin has crafted a ravishing body of music featuring subtly textured flourishes added in post-production. An eagerly awaited follow-up to his acclaimed 2008 debut, The Calling is a quantum leap for Collin, a highly personal statement that embraces the musical currents that move him most deeply.
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04/26/12 Romain Collin - Step Tempest review
Listening to Rudresh Mahanthappa talking with Josh Jackson on the April 17th edition of "The Checkout" ( do listen here), a lightbulb went off in the (fairly) dim recesses of my brain. The alto saxophonist talked about the influence of "prog-rock" in the jazz of the 21st Century.
Moving on to "The Calling" (Palmetto Records), the fine new release (his second as a leader) from pianist/composer Romain Collin, I hear the influence of groups such as Radiohead, Rush, and other progressive bands on the rhythms created by drummer Kendrick Scott and certain chordal patterns of the pianist. Long melodic passages, shorter tracks without solos, the interaction of Collin with Scott and bassist Luques Curtis (like Dezron Douglas, a native of Hartford, CT) is more comparable to the model of The Bad Plus and the Brad Mehldau Trio than to the music of Bill Evans or, for that fact, McCoy Tyner. Collin has a melodic streak a mile wide and his use of "programmed" sounds feels natural, not forced. The sonic textures behind the rippling piano solo on "Greyshot" (created by guest Adrian Daurov, cello) are haunting and cinematic. Not that this music is all "sturm und drang" - try the tricky rhythms of "Pennywise The Clown". Yes, this is danceable, playful, music and the interaction of Collin and Scott is priceless (don't forget to pay attention to Curtis's solid contributions beneath his cohorts.) For me, Kendrick Scott is the perfect drummer for this music because he never settles for the tried-and-true. His percussive playfulness on the opening of "Airborne" gives the music its wings while his actions during the varying dynamic settings the pianist creates illustrate that he is a drummer who listens yet is proactive (not reactive.) Listen to him drive "Runner's High", pushing the pianist and bassist without cluttering the sound, creating billows of cymbal splashes - the intensity in this music is incredible, especially since, much of the time, it's not played at a high volume.
The CD closes with "One Last Try", a solo piece with the air of nocturne composed by Claude Debussy. Collin concentrates on the melody, never relying on excessive technical garnishes or overplaying. The music is emotionally satisfying and honest. There are other tracks that display a classical influence, an influence that is not heavy-handed or artificial.
Romain Collin, a native of France and graduate of the Berklee School of Music as well as the Thelonious Monk Institute, has created quite a fine program with "The Calling." Thanks to Kendrick Scott and Luques Curtis for helping to give his music wings, for pushing the pianist forward and framing his melodies in a manner that feels fresh and without cliche. Kudos also go to producer Matt Pierson who provided Collin with the freedom and guidance to cultivate his music.
To learn more about the pianist, go to
romaincollin.com. Also, check him out in conversation with Jason Crane - go to thejazzsession.com
02/23/12 Members of Cream, Living Colour Unite for Album
Jack Bruce, Vernon Reid, John Medeski & Cindy Blackman Santana's Spectrum Road to Drop Debut, Play Bonnaroo in June
A new supergroup is heading to Bonnaroo.
The festival will see the summer performance debut of Spectrum Road, a new quartet featuring Jack Bruce (Cream), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin and Wood) and Cindy Blackman Santana (Lenny Kravitz, Santana).
According to Reid, the group's been in the works for quite some time.
"To be able to play and record in this band alongside three of the most creative and stellar musicians in the world is a longtime dream come true," he said in a release. "The idea for Spectrum Road first came about in 2001 and it was the ongoing belief in the kind of record we knew we could make together that made it come to fruition."
The band's self-titled debut will land on June 5 on Palmetto Records, just before their June 9 Bonnaroo set. The festival appearance will serve as the launch of a U.S. summer tour.
Spectrum Road was formed in homage to jazz drummer Tony Williams, whose track "Spectrum Road" serves as the group's namesake. Bruce played with the musician in the Tony Williams Lifetime trio in the early '70s, recording several albums of jazz fusion.
see article here
02/23/12 Singer Kate McGarry Pays Tribute to Her Jazz Heroines With “Girl Talk,” Due April 10
With the soul of a folk singer and the facility of a jazz instrumentalist, McGarry puts her own spin on an evergreen, ever-swinging tradition.
“Kate McGarry's sense of musical authenticity is beautifully blended with her always-original musical vision." —The Los Angeles Times
Kate McGarry, one of her generation's most individual and influential singers, has earned acclaim for blending her love of folk and pop music with jazz fluency and improvisation. As the Nashville Scene said, the sweet-toned, Grammy Award-nominated vocalist “embraces jazz's freedom yet points the genre toward a future that's as fresh and thrilling as its past." With Girl Talk—her fifth Palmetto Records album, to be released April 10—McGarry pays homage to her role models among the great women of the jazz vocal tradition, from Betty Carter to Sheila Jordan to Carmen McRae. Accompanied by an intimately swinging jazz combo, McGarry puts her own inimitable spin on such classic songs as “We Kiss in a Shadow," “The Man I Love," the winking title track and, as a dream duet with Kurt Elling, the Brazilian “O Cantador." McGarry, although inspired by tradition, makes the album's songs feel utterly contemporary, not only through her distinctly 21st-century musical personality but through the personal emotions and sexual politics at play....read more...






