Skyline:
Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gypsy
I am a member of the Grammys, but not a fan of their award ceremony, which (no mater how they tweak it) mostly ends up a based on recognizable names and record company clout. Having said that, I was very happy to see this album on the indie 5Passion label win "Best Instrumental Jazz Album" this year.
The album falls solidly into the ECM/Blue Note Records style. It is advertised as a Ron Carter album, but it could easily be called the "Gonzalo Rubalcaba Trio" or a Jack DeJohnette album - they are all equals on this outing.
Is Ron's name first because of his age or the alphabet? We will never know, but he certainly has seniority (he turns 85 in May, and as of 2016 the Guinness Book of World Records claimed his appearances on 2,221 recording sessions makes him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history.)
I love the fact that the record company released a couple of live-in-studio videos from the recording session. This music is clearly not everyone's cup of whisky (note the YouTube video has only been watched 21,000 times, while "Silk Sonic" has been viewed 1,436,000 times after four days on Youtube https://youtu.be/-nt_u4vo-DI )
So let me walk you through the highlights of GYPSY with a time chart:
00:00 The song starts with a free improv by Ron and Gonzalo.
01:13 Ron starts a walking groove, Jack picks it up and off they go
01:45 Gonzalo joins in. Is he reading "the head?" Or just playing? You got me!
(Note: many video cuts to the band listening to the playback later - so cool!)
04:45 Gonzalo goes full out "Cecil Taylor" on the piano
05:20 Time to reconsider, then Ron goes double-time
06:10 Jack takes over with a very subtle drum solo
06:52 Now they are wailing! Gonzalo pulls off an incredible uninterrupted line for 30 seconds. Yow!
07:30 Head out. It looks like Gonzalo is reading the music again, and
08:20 final chord, all together now!
This is JAZZ at its finest, respect for the music and each other.
Ron Carter - Bass Jack DeJohnette - Drums Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Piano
https://youtu.be/OScbxZnIZ80
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