#dirigo rataplan ii

[dustedmagazine]

Devin Gray – Dirigo Rataplan II (Rataplan)

A cognate phrase, Dirigo Rataplan loosely translates from the Latin and French respectively to “I direct a drumming sound.” The latter word is also the name of Devin Gray’s new record label, this disc being the inaugural release on the same. Gray’s kept fast company over the course of his active career and this project is a direct reflection of that consistency from the roster on down. Trumpeter Dave Ballou, tenorist Ellery Eskelin and bassist Michael Formanek are each acknowledged masters on their instruments and strong musical personalities who exhibit their shared confidence through the deference and engagement they show toward Gray’s deceptively demanding designs.

The album is actually a sequel to the ensemble’s 2012 recorded debut on the Brooklyn-based Skirl label, delving into both Gray’s developments in the intervening half-decade as well as the resilient rapport that also informed the earlier effort. Ten pieces by the drummer tally together to less than hour of the music, but each one is rigged with an ample and admirable array of ideas. “Congruently” immediately illustrates the leader’s abilities at parsing meter with an alternating, loosely Latinate rhythm that is as variable and supple as breathing. The horns dance atop the shifting patterns of drums and bass, riding the harnessed energy like seasoned surfers shooting a curl.

“Rollin’ Thru Town” sets up an inverse dynamic with Gray pulling inward in a gravitational tug of staccato sticking as the tenor and trumpet phrase in overlapping increments. Formanek peppers the field with a cascade of slanted plucks before landing on a sauntering series of accents. Once again, time is malleable and multidirectional in a manner of constant movement. “Trends of Trending” pivots on another diagonal groove with Eskelin and Ballou harmonizing in and around a unified line and over into fleeting abstraction bulwarked by garrulous bass that steers the piece to an ardent, vamp-anchored end.

Gray’s composition titles are evocative and elliptical at once. “Texicate” trades mainly on a fluttering a chamber-like colloquy between the horns as bass and drums interject from the edges. “Quantum Cryptology” echoes its appellation through a series of micro-gestures between component groupings. Ballou states a motif backed by Formanek before falling away to leave the bassist and Eskelin to an intimate dialogue. Grey enters on delicate cymbals to create a trio and signals Ballou’s return, this time solo for a focused improvisation that tests his tonal mettle. The concluding “Micro Dosage” is similarly succinct, a playfully incremental, drain-circling piece that stops on a dime.

Derek Taylor

[freethejazzblog]

Free The Jazz #88 [for Stan Lee]

1 - Andrew Hill - Compulsion (from "Compulsion", 1967 Blue Note)

2 - The Noah Howard Quartet - Fire March (from "Schizophrenic Blues", 1978 FMP)

3 - Andrew Cyrille / Wadada Leo Smith / Bill Frisell - Worried Woman (from "Lebroba", 2018 ECM)

4 - Devin Gray / Michael Formanek / Ellery Eskelin / Dave Ballou - Trends Of Trending (from "Dirigo Rataplan II", 2018 Rataplan)

5 - Koichi Matsukaze Trio - Little Drummer (from "At The Room 427", 1976 ALM)

6 - Colin Stetson - Reborn (from "Hereditary (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)", 2018 Milan)

7 - Brötzmann / Leigh - It's Almost Dark (from "Sparrow Nights", 2018 Trost)

8 - Mia Dyberg Trio - Wil's Swing (from "Ticket!", 2018 Clean Feed)

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