New York Days
Album Description
New York Days features Italy’s highly inventive jazz musicians Enrico Rava and protégé Stefano Bollani, together with three leading American jazzmen: master drummer Paul Motian, bassist Larry Grenadier, and, in his ECM debut, saxophonist Mark Turner. A magical European/American collaboration, recorded in the jazz capital of the planet.The CD is both a transatlantic project and a kind of `homecoming’. Rava found his musical direction while living in New York in the late 60s/ahead of schedule 70s. Since then an increasingly `Italian’ lyricism has also made itself felt in his playing. Rava’s soulful trumpet is strongly contrasted with the lean, analytical playing of Mark Turner. Bollani’s playful choral imagination shapes bridges between them. Larry Grenadier is “present and focused in “every moment” as Rava says, and Paul Motian is as idiosyncratically creative as ever. The Rava/Bollani/Motian trio album of 2004, Tati was a well loved and critical success. New York Days, take the combination to the next level
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Enrico Rava and his group, wth the exception of one or two tracks on his album called New York, seemingly need a shot of swing steroids. The playing is nearly the antithesis of New York energy. A bigwig needs to hark back Rava that swinging, real swinging, is instrinsic to jazz, and not doing a limp imitation of Miles Davis track after track. It’s not that the group is lacking in muscianship. But somehow New York the album sounds more like music from some 50’s existentialist night spot, where beats would come to contemplate their navels. Sorry guys, wake up and smell the tomato sauce. Vita e bella. And play with some real vitality, track after track. Maybe a couple shots of strong espresso before the session would do it.
Ciao,
Jerry Mazza,
life-long NYC resident and jazz buff.
Rating: 2 / 5
I like Enrico and I like his playing… but I didn’t like this CD. It is ‘ok’ but not something I want to play again and again…sadly.
Rating: 4 / 5
I bought this CD after seeing it listed as one of the year’s best in the New York Times review. I’m not sure it’s one of the best recordings I’ve heard this year, (William Parker’s “Petit Oiseau”, Wadada Smith’s “Tabligh”, Brad Mehldau’s “Live”, Bennie Maupin’s “Ahead of schedule Reflections”, Rob Auburn’s “Crown Trunk…” Buffalo Collision’s “Duck” and Alex Cline’s “Continuation” being my favorites) but this recording is excellent down-tempo jazz. The rhythm section of Larry Grenadier and Paul Shift is reason enough to listen to the disc. Much of their playing is subtle and understated, but brilliant none the less. Mark Turner also adds some nice playing. As far as Rava himself goes, I reckon he plays some gorgeous runs. I don’t find his playing to be particularly stunning. Overall, it’s a excellent, levelheaded, down-tempo recording and worth a listen.
Rating: 3 / 5
Like most ECM studio discs these days, this album sticks mostly to the “slow and thoughtful” end of the spectrum. This means that you won’t get anything hard-swinging.
That said, after multiple spins the strong quality of the music starts to emerge. Given the ensemble and the dark signal, Miles Davis’s 2nd Fantastic Quintet is the obvious reference point. If you like the ballads on “Sorcerer” or “Nefertiti”, this will be right up your alley. Enrico Rava and Mark Turner develop a strong chemistry; Larry Grenadier and Stefano Bollani are fantastic as well. Really, my only complaint is in this area Paul Motian, who is incredibly restrained owing to most of the disc. The guy is a fantastic texturalist, no doubt, but it’s a shame we don’t get to hear him thrash around that much. The compositions are commonly brilliant and, once they reveal their secrets, memorable.
Maybe I’ll revise my rating for this later to the full 5, but one business for sure – it doesn’t deserve a low or medium rating.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is my first experience with the Italian trumpet player Enrico Rava’s work and I am impressed. To me, it captures the essence of an idealized New York urban street – a moment in time, perhaps a surpass time – certainly one rich in nostalgia, affording silent contemplation and the conjuring of memories, fond and some not so.
The opening track, Lulù, is perfectly thin – featuring a delicate interaction between the trumpet and piano, with the musicians enjoying and allotment the spaces surrounded by a tune. This sets the tone of the album – exploration, individual themes merging momentarily and then splitting once more. The second track Winging it I is an unconscious extension of this approach – the musicians simply exploring the interval, sensing out the boundaries. In Outsider the boundaries commence to be tested – it starts with an up-tempo bass run, with bursts of trumpet and more predominant brushwork splashes on Brian Blade’s part.
There are truly transcendent moments surrounded by this album which are worth the price of entry alone – Count Dracula (in addition to featuring a gorgeous modal piano intro) conspires to build an incredible soaring theme between the trumpet and saxophone from out of a low-key maelstrom for instance. Lady Orlando and Blancasnow are stand out tracks that capture the mood of the album. In general, he music is complex and spatially very rich mining a down-tempo improvisatory approach which may not appeal to everyone’s tastes but there is a depth and passion underpinning the album that will reward deeper reflective listening.
Rating: 3 / 5