Dan Blake: The Aquarian Suite

Dan Blake (sax)

The Aquarian Suite (BJU Records; 2011)

Jason Palmer (trumpet)

Jorge Roeder (bass)

Richie Barshay (drums)

Dan Blake is a significantly rising talent on the scene today. He has garnered a number of strong awards and played with a good array of musicians (including Julian Lage and Ricardo Gallo) along the way. While only releasing two albums in six years, he is still one of the most in-demand and definitely "one to watch out for" of the most recent list of saxophonists of the last ten years. He has a quality that is both attuned to tradition but also looking to the future.

While listening to Dan Blake's latest record, The Aquarian Suite (BJU Records) you will automatically harken back to a bebop era when music was fresh and vibrant with life. But you will also witness an artist creating a vital spin on tradition. I sense shades of Sonny Rollins or Jackie McLean but with new ideas that are bursting at the seams. "The Whistler" bleeds with variant colours that are both exciting and enchanting. A calm and clever tune that moves up and down providing excellent moments of expression by Blake and a number conversations between each member of the quartet.

"The Best Of Intentions" is a sophisticated ballad that drips with passion and deep respect. It's a soul searching piece and can bring a tear to the eye. "Aquarian" contains a bluesy jump tone and almost spy-like bass tingling performance from Roeder. Moving quietly it begins like an experimental piece and then turns into a crackingly upbeat, as it heads toward the middle. There is a vivid and fun atmosphere that is laid out between Blake, Palmer and Barsahy that becomes inviting and infectious. "Cavemen Do It Too" is euphoric and reflective; with punchy overtones from Roeder and Blake. This is followed by a great solo period from Roeder which is killer. Definitely the hippest highlight of the session but also the perfect way to close it out.

Dan Blake has dedicated individual pieces to those that have been an influence (Monk, Mingus, Braxton, Davis) but really what he has done is created one of the few albums that bridges the gap between the benchmark and launchpad for what many composers/saxophonists should be considering. Blake is a rising talent with all the right ideas and The Aquarian Suite is another piece in a growing arsenal of brilliance.

Ricardo Gallo:The Great Fine Line

Ricardo Gallo (piano)

The Great Fine Line (Clean Feed; 2010)

Ray Anderson (trombone)

Dan Blake (sax)
Mark Helias (bass)
Satoshi Takeishi (drums, percussion)
Pheerdan Aklaff (drums)

I've discussed Ricardo Gallo's many virtues recently. He is an artist who continually gets better with each album. The Great Fine Line, his first album for Clean Feed records is another marvelous addition to his growing cannon of material.

This sextet recording was done just a few short weeks after his mainstay quartet had finished its third release, Resistencias (Ladistrito Fonica). The Great Fine Line is a more expansive and freedom exploring outing in which the musicians including Gallo stretch their emotional muscle with wonderful results.

The album's title refers to the famous Argentine author, Julio Cortazar (author of the amazing novel, Hopscotch) and his belief that music is a no-mans land and that everything becomes blurred. This is true when it comes to The Great Fine Line with it's varying passages and moments of exploration by each member.

On "Stomp At No Man's Land" Ray Anderson and Dan Blake take prime space to rip through chord changes as Ricardo Gallo controls the balance around the edges. An intricate battle ensues on "Three Versions Of A Lie" in which the interchanges from each musicians is bold and vibrant. Gallo's use of two drummers for this session is also a wonderful choice. It does give distinct to each track. Takeishi's performance on "Three Version Of A Lie" is superb and dominates the proceeding.

"Hermetismo" starts in melodic, gentle tones with Helias, Gallo and Aklaff leading way until Blake and Anderson join in to make it almost a contemporary bop-ish affair. It's probably the most straight-ahead piece on the album but still having abstract undertones. Contradiction? I don't think so.

"La Pina Blanca" starts like a homage to New Orleans before spinning quickly into varying level of free form point/counterpoint. Lovely stuff as each member quickly shuffles back and forth in time.

With The Great Fine Line, Ricardo Gallo continues to make his name on the new jazz community. The diversity of his projects and his compositional work is truly setting him apart from the pact. Another well deserved must listen.