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PAUL SHAW QUINTET - Moment of Clarity
Summit Records: DCD 763
Paul Shaw (drums, composer) Alex Sipiagin (trumpet) Brad Shepik (guitar) Gary Versace (piano) Drew Gress (acoustic bass)
Recorded in New York, no date given.
Making his debut as a bandleader Paul Shaw, a drummer hitherto unknown to me, leads a combo of New York based A list modernists in a session that comprises seven of his original and refreshingly distinctive compositions. His backstory, as related in the sleeve notes, gives an account of a distinguished career beginning in military bands before moving to the groves of academia and commercial work as a sideman in jazz and popular music idioms If this excellent recording is anything to go by his name will soon be as familiar as the esteemed team he has gathered about him here to give expression to his musical vision.
As a percussionist he is in full command of all the necessary technique required to keep the music on the move as well as adding subtle touches that highlight elements in the unfolding dialogue between the other instrumentalists. When he solos, the effects he creates are novel and arresting; I know a lot of people find drum solos boring – these aren’t and in any case there is only one extended workout , most of his energy is devoted to creating exciting tension in the underlying rhythm often playing against the prevailing tempo being carried by the front line.
The set opens with a tight press roll leading into a modal vamp and then we are off on a journey that takes in many of the twists and turns that characterise post -bop modern jazz. The clarity alluded to in the title is aided by first class sound engineering which captures every instrument to perfection but is surely also a reference to the interplay of trumpet and guitar as they articulate Shaw’s themes, often in unison, producing an appealingly airy sound. Sipiagin (ex-Mingus Big Band and much more) has a bright, piercing tone tempered with a burnished polish that puts me in mind of a latter-day Chet Baker whilst Shepik (remember him from Paul Motion’s Electric Be-Bop Band and Dave Douglas’s Tiny Bell Trio) adds a highly strung ethereal note. All the solo statements are resourceful and eminently tuneful with Gary Versace’s contribution being particularly delightful. That only leaves Drew Gress to mention, who with his exposure to a variety of contemporary settings (Tim Berne, Fred Hersch) is particularly at home here.
Together they produce music that is at turns breezily invigorating, finely nuanced and refined with all the attributes of compelling modern jazz plus a generous streak of originality. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Summit Records: DCD 763
Paul Shaw (drums, composer) Alex Sipiagin (trumpet) Brad Shepik (guitar) Gary Versace (piano) Drew Gress (acoustic bass)
Recorded in New York, no date given.
Making his debut as a bandleader Paul Shaw, a drummer hitherto unknown to me, leads a combo of New York based A list modernists in a session that comprises seven of his original and refreshingly distinctive compositions. His backstory, as related in the sleeve notes, gives an account of a distinguished career beginning in military bands before moving to the groves of academia and commercial work as a sideman in jazz and popular music idioms If this excellent recording is anything to go by his name will soon be as familiar as the esteemed team he has gathered about him here to give expression to his musical vision.
As a percussionist he is in full command of all the necessary technique required to keep the music on the move as well as adding subtle touches that highlight elements in the unfolding dialogue between the other instrumentalists. When he solos, the effects he creates are novel and arresting; I know a lot of people find drum solos boring – these aren’t and in any case there is only one extended workout , most of his energy is devoted to creating exciting tension in the underlying rhythm often playing against the prevailing tempo being carried by the front line.
The set opens with a tight press roll leading into a modal vamp and then we are off on a journey that takes in many of the twists and turns that characterise post -bop modern jazz. The clarity alluded to in the title is aided by first class sound engineering which captures every instrument to perfection but is surely also a reference to the interplay of trumpet and guitar as they articulate Shaw’s themes, often in unison, producing an appealingly airy sound. Sipiagin (ex-Mingus Big Band and much more) has a bright, piercing tone tempered with a burnished polish that puts me in mind of a latter-day Chet Baker whilst Shepik (remember him from Paul Motion’s Electric Be-Bop Band and Dave Douglas’s Tiny Bell Trio) adds a highly strung ethereal note. All the solo statements are resourceful and eminently tuneful with Gary Versace’s contribution being particularly delightful. That only leaves Drew Gress to mention, who with his exposure to a variety of contemporary settings (Tim Berne, Fred Hersch) is particularly at home here.
Together they produce music that is at turns breezily invigorating, finely nuanced and refined with all the attributes of compelling modern jazz plus a generous streak of originality. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
