1954

Ricardo Grilli
Disques: Jazz

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Fiche technique Disques

Timbre	Tone Rogue Records
Style	Jazz
Année d'origine Édition	2016
Instrumental

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Ricardo Grilli (guitarra eléctrica)

Aaron Parks (piano), Joe Martin (contrabajo), Eric Harland (batería).

Edición en formato Digipack.

"There’s an attractively questing quality in the album’s opener, “Arcturus,” named after the brightest star in the Northern sky. Featuring an A-list rhythm team — the pianist Aaron Parks, the bassist Joe Martin, the drummer Eric Harland — it has a driving rock groove over which Mr. Grilli unfurls a coolly billowing solo." Nate Chinen (NYTimes)

"This is a fine example of four distinctive musicians fitting together well to make fine music. Grilli is a very capable guitarist and he mixes very well with the flash and power of his comrades." All About Jazz

"Ricardo Grilli, remember that name. Judging by his 2 albums, he's a fine composer, a smart player, an excellent arranger, and, chances are good, he'll be making great music for a long time." Richard Kamins

“Evocative, ethereal, and eclectic… Grilli [hits] that sweet spot somewhere between post bop and the avant garde.” Critical Jazz

“Excellent... Can't stop listening.” Steve Greenlee, JazzTimes

"Ricardo Grilli, remember that name. Judging by his 2 albums, he's a fine composer, a smart player, an excellent arranger, and, chances are good, he'll be making great music for a long time." Richard Kamins (Step Tempest)

Por Scott Albin - Publicado en Amazon.com
Formato: CD de audio
Ricardo Grilli has been playing catch-up since first picking up the guitar at age 20, coming from Brazil to Boston's Berklee College of Music at 23, and later releasing his first album in 2013, If On a Winter's Night a Traveler. If Grilli has been a late bloomer, his second CD proves that he's finally arrived, with a fully formed, sleek and nimble guitar style, and a penchant for writing appealingly evocative tunes. The guitarist's top-notch quartet for this recording, featuring pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Joe Martin, and drummer Eric Harland, can be supercharged or subtly sensitive as the occasion requires, and one hopes that these four talented musicians have more opportunities to perform together in the future. The titles of many of Grilli's nine originals heard here reflect his interests in astronomy and the cosmos, while the CD's title, 1954, refers to the year of his father's birth, as well as the beginnings of the Space Age and a time when bebop jazz flourished in Grilli's adopted home base of New York City.

"Arcturus" is named for the brightest star in the eastern celestial hemisphere, and carries a dramatically insistent pulse, thanks especially to Harland's driving rhythms and Grilli's glittering, expansive improvisation on his vibrant theme. Parks' support of the guitarist is also notable, sparse but perfectly fitting. "Breathe" is based on the critical moment when a spaceship transfers from atmosphere to stratosphere, and the loping, spaciously seductive line effectively conveys that release from tension, repeated with slight variations, in a succinct track with no solos. "Pogo56" was composed for trumpeter and Berklee professor Jason Palmer, and contains Parks' reflective piano and Martin's pounding bass motif setting the stage for a ringing rendition of the endearing theme from Grilli. Parks expands upon it melodically in his nuanced solo, the leader following with a compelling statement replete with rippling lines and sparkling chords, all this benefiting from the impactful dual efforts of Martin and Harland.

"Radiance" in turn was inspired by Brian Blade's Fellowship Band, as well as by the glow of heavenly bodies. It's kick-started by Harland's sustained semi-martial beats, in tandem with Grilli's softly reverbed guitar on the forceful and indeed radiant fusion theme. Parks surging solo is answered by Grilli's gripping, unrelentingly inventive pronouncement. "Rings" suggests those around Saturn and other planets, in addition to the symbolic union of individuals. The serenely contemplative piece is again enhanced by the sublime teamwork of the bassist and drummer, and Parks' tender reverie is soon joined by Grilli for their charming unison reprise. "Far Away Shores" pays tribute to Grilli's friend and collaborator, the pianist Julian Shore. African-inflected drums, booming bass, and jangling guitar achieve a pleasing intro for the ethereal ballad theme. The tempo accelerates for Grilli's subsequent lyrically throbbing phrases, which seamlessly alternate with Parks' equally fleet, constructive, and contagious passages.

"Cosmonauts" was prompted by the unconfirmed theory of Russia's "phantom cosmonauts," whose missions failed prior to Yuri Gagarin's successful flight. The piano-bass opening projects a sense of both weightlessness and apprehension, before Grilli's guitar unveils a bittersweet melody. Parks' pensive improv utilizes space and shifting textures winningly, and the stirring reprise (lifted by Harland's robust attack) suddenly evolves into a surprisingly gentle, if abrupt, finish. Resounding guitar chords, and then the rather majestic theme, plus Harland's back beat, give "Vertigo" a jazz-rock fusion ambiance, and Parks' skittering venture recalls Keith Jarrett. Grilli's hot declaration is deeply felt and enthralling. The closing "Pulse" possesses a hard bop head that may seem basic at first, but the harmonies are not, thus generating absorbing solos from Martin, Grilli, and Parks, each pulling out all the stops with an impelled focus.