Mark Guiliana's newest album as a leader - Jersey, to be
released in September 2017 on Motema Music - features his compelling Jazz
Quartet, with saxophonist Jason Rigby, pianist Fabian Almazan and bassist Chris
Morrissey. It's the much-anticipated second album from The Mark Guiliana Jazz
Quartet, following up 2015's Family First (and its companion release, Family
First: The Alternate Takes).
Describing the Quartet's modus operandi on Jersey, Guiliana
said: "Many of my releases as a leader have been driven by
electronic-inspired beats and textures, but with Family First and now Jersey,
it felt like the right time to present my music in an entirely acoustic
environment. So the Jazz Quartet is my humble attempt to make a personal
statement using the traditional palette of saxophone, piano, bass and drums.
For the band, this lineup presents the challenge: How creative can we be inside
this box - how much freedom and experimentation can we find? And I have to say
that it's always so exciting to hear the guys play this music in ways I never
could have imagined."
The title of Jersey references Guiliana's center of gravity
and his geographical roots. Born in 1980 in Florham Park, New Jersey, and
raised there, Guiliana first discovered jazz in high school through his first
drum teacher Joe Bergamini, graduated from William Paterson University in
Wayne, lived for years in Jersey City and Hoboken, and now resides in Madison
with his wife, singer Gretchen Parlato, and their toddler son.
"The jazz quartet that played Sunday night at La
Nouvelle Scène delighted the packed house with strictly acoustic music that
throbbed with imagination and refined but rugged playing." - Peter Hum of
The Ottawa Citizen (on the Quartet's performance at the Ottawa Jazz Festival)
Beautifully produced by Guiliana, Jersey brims with an
energized cohesiveness. "We recorded the album right after a two-week tour
of Europe - I really wanted to capture the momentum of the band," said Guiliana.
"I'm beyond grateful that Chris, Jason and Fabian are onboard, since
they're all such excellent leaders in their own right. As a drummer, I'm a big
fan of bass players, and I'm lucky to have played with some great ones. Chris
is one of my favorites. He always brings an exciting energy to the music, and
because he's also a singer-songwriter, that storytelling sensibility comes out
in the way he plays. With Jason, I love his sound and the way he delivers
melodies. He's an effortless improviser with a deep connection to the music at
every moment. Fabian is the quartet's wild card. He has a unique harmonic and
rhythmic sophistication to his improvising that makes for really fun
interaction. With these guys, we're always passing inspiration back and forth
to each other. We take a lot of chances in the music, developing new ways to
play together every night - and that takes trust, a musical and personal
empathy. The importance of family was instilled in me naturally just the way I
was raised - those sorts of values extend to my bands, and the guys are like
extended family for me."
The urgent rhythms of Guiliana at a stripped-down kit launch
Jersey via the stylish opener "inter-are," one of six compositions by
the drummer, along with the lyrical "Jersey" title track, the
atmospheric "September," swinger "Big Rig Jones" and solo
drum piece "Rate," an acronymic, virtuosic tribute to drum heroes Roy
(Haynes), Art (Blakey), Tony (Williams) and Elvin (Jones). Two more tracks, "Our
Lady" and "The Mayor of Rotterdam," are characteristically
tune-rich contributions penned by bassist Morrissey. "BP," one of the
album's hook-laced highlights, is a piece by Rich Hinman, a guitarist friend of
Guiliana. The lone cover is a moving interpretation of David Bowie's
"Where Are We Now?" (from Bowie's second-to-last album, The Next
Day). "It's a 'thank you' to David, for the incredible experience of
working with him," the drummer explains. "This is my way of paying
tribute to him, but in an entirely different sonic context from
Blackstar."
"Rhythmic interplay and complex layers are key features
of Guiliana's style, so these characteristics permeated the entire set. The
music is full of surprises, in form and content; in spite of this, the
transitions were fluid, even when moving between radically different sections.
Sometimes you'd wonder how the music arrived at its current point, so suddenly
yet with such ease. Add to this the fact that Guiliana and his bandmates have a
gift for intentionally blurring form, and you have an utterly absorbing musical
experience, with beautiful twists and turns." - Marlowe Heywood-Thornes in
JazzWise Magazine (on The Mark Guiliana Quartet's performance at Ronnie Scott's
Jazz Club)
More on Mark Guiliana: The artist has become recognized as
one of the world's leading drummers, admired and in demand across the spectrum
from jazz to rock to electronic music for his rhythmic sophistication, creative
impulse and individual sound. He has been in the vanguard of drummers creating
a new vernacular on the instrument, blending virtuosity on acoustic drums with
artfully deployed electronic beats and processing. Guiliana was chosen as Best
Jazz Drummer in the Modern Drummer Readers Poll 2017, while DownBeat Magazine
dubbed him a Rising Star in its Critics Poll. JazzTimes aptly proclaimed:
"Guiliana, a technical master with a rare sense of musicality, has over
the past decade become one of the most influential drummers of his
generation." Along with leading his own groups - the acoustic Mark Guiliana
Jazz Quartet and electronica-minded Beat Music - the drummer has appeared on a
string of acclaimed recordings with others. The verve and precision of
Guiliana's drumming was a prime mover of Blackstar, David Bowie's multiple
GRAMMY Award-winning swan song. Guiliana teamed with keyboardist Brad Mehldau
as the duo Mehliana for the Nonesuch release Taming the Dragon, and he has also
collaborated with such artists as saxophonist (and Motema label mate) Donny
McCaslin, jazz legend John Scofield, Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer-songwriter
Matt Cameron, neo-soul singer-songwriter Meshell Ndegeocello,
guitarist-vocalist Lionel Loueke, bassist Avishai Cohen, reggae/hip-hop artist
Matisyahu and jazz singer Gretchen Parlato.
The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet On Tour in Support of Jersey
(All dates with The Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet, unless
otherwise noted)
September 1-Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago, IL (w/Donny
McCaslin Group)
September 2 & 3-Detroit Jazz Festival, Detroit, MI
September 7-Jazz a la Villette, Paris, FR (w/ Donny McCaslin
Group)
September 8-Festival Batojazz, Chanaz, FR (w/ Donny McCaslin
Group)
October 6-7-Blue Whale, Los Angeles, CA
October 8-Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz, CA
October 10-Yoshi's, Oakland, CA
October 11-The Fremont Theater, Portland, OR
October 12-The Triple Door, Seattle, WA
October 13-Dazzle, Denver, CO
October 14-Live at the Back Room, Milwaukee, WI
October 15-Constellation, Chicago, IL
October 21-Le Fil, Saint-Eitienne, France
November 2-Cafe Berlin, Jazz Madrid Festival, Madrid, Spain
November 3-Teatro Central, Sevilla, Spain
November 4-Kleine Zaal, Eindhoven, Netherlands
November 6-Jazzclub Fashing, Stockholm, Sweden
November 8-G Livelab, Helsinki, Finland
November 10-Staatsoper Nürnberg, Nürnberg, Germany
November 11-Rockit Festival, Oosterport, Groningen,
Netherlands
November 13-14-Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London, England
November 15-Babylon Bomonti, Istanbul, Turkey
November 16-New Morning Club, Paris, France
November 17-Lantaren Venster, Rotterdam, Netherlands
November 18-Bimhuis, Amsterdam, Netherlands
December 2-Jefferson Center, Roanoke, VA
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