a r t i s t : Hal Galper/Jeff Johnson/John Bishop
t i t l e : Furious Rubato
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Origin Records
c a t : ORIGIN 82476
s o u r c e : Normal release
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : 2007-05-24
t r a c k s : 8
b i t r a t e : 187 kbps avg
s i z e : 91.95MB
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Pianist Hal Galper spent a big part of his career working with some of the
giants of the mainstream, players like trumpeter Chet Baker, alto
saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, guitar master John Scofield and bop alto
sax legend Phil Woods. With his Agents of Change (Fabola Records, 2006), a
trio outing with drummer Billy Mintz and bassist Tony Marino, he moved out
of the familiar flow to explore the ôrubato styleö of playing, an open,
circular approach to time and melody.
On Furious Rubato he forges ahead with that exploratory process, again in
the trio setting, enlisting bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop to
round out his sound.
From the first cut, Miles DavisÆ ôMilestones,ö there's a feeling of leaving
a comfort zone behind and embracing that change with a familiar/foreign
dynamic. The melody remains recognizable, but Galper stretches it and bends
it around, revealing new shades and shapes of beauty inside the tune. The
also familiar John Coltrane composition, ôNaima,ö gets a similar treatment,
as does another Miles Davis tune, ôMiles Ahead.ö Also included are four
Galper originals and one by Johnson, ôZen.ö
Galper's succinctly phrased, percussive and sometimes brittle piano style
brings bop pioneer Bud Powell to mind. His up-tempo ôFigurineö has a
tumbling water vibe, and some compellingly off-kilter comping behind Jeff
Johnson's rumbling bass solo. The ten minute-plus Galper original, ôValse
Cool,ö has a classic-sounding melody, like something from The Great American
Songbook getting stretched and compressed, then stretched anew.
An innovative direction, Furious Rubato takes a few spins to assimilate, but
they are spins well worth the effort. It's a listening experience that
pushes the boundaries of the comfort zone, and beautifully so.
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01-Milestones [ 8:00 ]
02-Valse Cool [10:25 ]
03-Zen [ 6:55 ]
04-Figurine [ 7:48 ]
05-Chromatic Fantasy [ 5:48 ]
06-Naima [ 8:18 ]
07-Miles Ahead [ 8:15 ]
08-Other Days [ 9:32 ]
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65:01 min