Hot Cup
Records announces the April 8, 2014 release of Wide Eyed, the sophomore album
by the NYC-based Danny Fox Trio. Since their critically acclaimed 2011 debut,
The One Constant (Songlines), the group has continued to push the boundaries of
the classic piano trio format. Wide Eyed
ups the ante in the band's quest to create uniquely personal, genre-defying
original music. Falling somewhere
between jazz and chamber music, the album's eleven pieces are replete with
sonic surprises: quirky rhythms, jaunty yet catchy melodies, haunting
harmonies, and out-of-the-box arrangements that showcase the capabilities of
each member of the group, all while maintaining tuneful melodies.
Formed
in 2008, the Danny Fox Trio, featuring pianist Danny Fox, bassist Chris van
Voorst van Beest, and drummer Max Goldman, is a true working band. Whether holed up in a Queens basement
rehearsing or touring around the country crammed into a sedan, the trio has
spent countless hours developing a rapport that's immediately palpable in their
music. This chemistry not only contributes to the precision of their
performances, but allows each member to feel confident enough to take musical
risks. This contrast between cohesive, cogent ensemble execution and the
excitement of spontaneous improvisation adds an energy that is sorely lacking
in much of today's music, regardless of genre.
Though
rooted in jazz, the three versatile musicians are also active in chamber music,
bluegrass, afrobeat, electro, and New Orleans funk, thereby giving the band a
sound that is all-encompassing yet strikingly individual. Drawing on influences as varied as Ellington,
Bartok, The Meters, and Bernard Herrmann, the music can switch gears at any moment
yet remains cohesive thanks to strong motivic development and rigorous
arrangements that challenge the traditional roles of the piano trio
instruments. Having committed these intricate and challenging compositions to
memory and performed them scores of times, the influence and esthetic of rock
bands is readily appreciated.
The trio
explores a wide range of novel techniques to eschew standard forms and roles.
The piano, typically both the lead melodic and harmonic voice, rarely performs
these two roles simultaneously. Instead,
Fox opts for textures that feature the abilities of his band mates and explore
the more extreme ranges of the piano. In
addition to fulfilling the traditional role as rhythmic anchor, bassist Chris
van Voorst van Beest provides melodies, counterpoint, and coloristic arco
effects adeptly. Drummer Max Goldman employs traditional drumbeats effectively,
but often opts for a more orchestral approach, mimicking symphonic
playing. The compositions themselves
feature extensive melodic and motivic development, sometimes hovering around a
theme that is only a few notes long, and sometimes building phrases over time
to great emotional heights.
The
eleven pieces on Wide Eyed navigate through a vast array of grooves, harmonies,
time signatures, tempo shifts, free improvisations, and dynamics while always
remaining grounded in the thematic material, giving the music a seamlessness
and cohesion such that it is both challenging and highly listenable.
The
album opens with the insistent bass groove of Sterling, which the trio unfolds
in unexpected ways: from the slippery, danceable odd meter rhythm of the
opening melody to the introspective rubato bass melody and jagged drum
punctuations that follow. The song
exemplifies the motivic style of composition as the opening six-note theme is
modified through new harmonies, tempi, and instrumentation to spin out sections
of varied moods. This theme is sometimes
front and center and other times lurking, as when the left hand of the piano
plays a fast version of it under dense minor chords. Bonkers, written by Fox while going mad from
practicing music for a circus, is a meeting of Prokofiev-like melody, African
rhythm, and free improvisation.
All
Tolled, an epic piece spun out of a pencil accidentally tapping a rhythm on a
desk, shows the trio's range from ferocious bombast to tender lullaby and
spotlights the group's creative use of their instruments, as in the
introduction where the piano plays on the extreme high and low registers as a
background for the bass melody. Throughout, Goldman displays his well-rounded
approach to the drum kit, sometimes laying down specific beats and other times
mimicking orchestral percussion. The
bluegrass-inspired Drone shows the trio's playful side and the influence of
Fox's second instrument: banjo.
The
subdued title track Wide Eyed opens with a moody cinematic simmer before
piano/bass counterpoint explores rich harmonic dissonances. Confederates is a
sinister march with ecstatic jolts, followed by Short Al in Brooklyn, a
deceivingly tricky rhythmic proposition disguised as a light-hearted swinger,
written for a famous NYC sports talk radio caller. Patriot Daze and Punches show Fox's heavy
classical influence, using both hands to equal effect, and the trio's adept use
of dynamics. Funhouse Memory filters
funk through a funhouse mirror with off-kilter rhythms and spooky chords. The wildly-phrased canon seems to come out of
nowhere but derives simply from the first theme stated in the piece. The album closes with the chamber-like Tumble
Quiet, written against the backdrop of a faint clothes dryer in a quiet house,
which floats from ethereal chords toward thumping tribal grooves before
reaching a plaintive calm. The bass
moves seamlessly between contrapuntal melodies and earthy bassline ostinatos.
Wide
Eyed is about inhabiting a state of wonder and surprise about the world around
us. It's about searching for possibility
and embracing new ideas all while taking inspiration from what you've already
taken in.
Pianist
Danny Fox was born in New York City where he became immersed in the jazz scene
from an early age. In high school, Danny
was selected as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and went on to attend
Harvard University during which time he became active in the Boston music
scene. Upon moving back to New York,
Danny began intensive classical studies with concert pianist John
Kamitsuka. He formed the Danny Fox Trio
in 2008 as a vehicle for his original compositions and since then the working
group has performed steadily around NYC and the US, releasing the critically
acclaimed debut The One Constant (Songlines) in 2011. Called a "pianist of diverse
accomplishment" (NY Times), Danny has established himself as a versatile
musician active in a wide variety of settings from chamber groups and pit
orchestras to big bands, dance troupes, and choirs. He performs with bassist Kermit Driscoll and
multireedist Sam Sadigursky, and recently co-founded a New Orleans repertory
band with drummer Dan Rieser. Fox is
also in the vanguard of the burgeoning Queens creative music scene, performing
frequently in concerts and festivals organized by the Queens Jazz
Overground.
Born in
Pownal, Maine, bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest has been an in-demand
presence on the New York music scene since moving to Brooklyn in 2005. He has performed with such noted jazz artists
as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, and Rudy Linka, with whom he
recently toured the Czech Republic.
Versatile in a variety of musical settings, he performs and records with
numerous rock, afrobeat, and folk/bluegrass projects, as well as Off-Broadway
productions, including the acclaimed interactive theatre show "Sleep No
More." Chris is also involved in the burgeoning NYC contemporary classical
scene, through which he has worked with artists such as Gabriel Kahane and Rob
Moose. In addition to his busy schedule
as a bassist, Chris is active as a composer: He recently completed his Master's
degree in Composition from City College, where he studied with Pulitzer-Prize
winning composer David Del Tredici, and is developing a diverse repertoire of
compositions for chamber ensembles of various sizes and instrumentation. In
2009 Chris was awarded a grant to compose the original score for the children's
book "The Lamplighter," featuring narration by noted folk artist Sam
Amidon.
Born in
Rochester, NY, drummer Max Goldman was fortunate to study under local greats
Jeff Lewis, Steve Curry and Rich Thompson.
He moved to New York City in 2001, attending NYU and the New School,
where he studied with Tony Moreno, Gerald Cleaver and Kenny Washington. Since graduating in 2006, Max has been an
active musician based in Brooklyn's fertile creative scene. He spends much of
his time touring Europe, South America, the US, and Canada with a diverse lineup
of artists. In addition to the Danny Fox
Trio, Max has performed and recorded with Becca Stevens, Tim Berne, The Elan
Mehler Group, Old Time Musketry, Midnight Magic, Nomi Ruiz, and Eleanor
Friedberger. He has been called "a
seriously propulsive force" by the Chicago Reader, and his drumming has
been described as "beautifully melodic, even pianistic" by the New
York Jazz Review.
John Schaefer of WNYC's New Sounds says the Danny Fox Trio is "changing the sound and expectation of a jazz piano trio." And Peter Margasak writes in the Chicago Reader: "The group certainly doesn't operate like a typical jazz piano trioŠFox's original compositions are episodic, rigorously arranged, and generally eschew the usual song forms employed in mainstream jazz."
Funhouse Memory: https://soundcloud.com/bk-music-pr/funhouse-memory-danny-fox-trio
Watch their video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya5q8O5bhrk&feature=youtu.be
CD Release Tour:
o Wed. April 30 - Cliff Bell's, Detroit, MI
o Thurs. May 1 - Merriman's Playhouse, South Bend, IN
o Fri. May 2 - Constellation, Chicago, IL
o Sat. May 3 - Jazz Estate, Milwaukee, WI
o Sun. May 4, House Concert - Music on a Mission, Lorain, OH
o Wed. May 7th -Boxer's, Huntingdon, PA
o Fri. May 9- Subculture, NYC
o Sun. May 18th- Bop Shop, Rochester, NY
No comments:
Post a Comment