Label: Rataplan Records, 2021

Personnel - Devin Gray: drums; Ralph Alessi: trumpet; Angelica Sanchez: piano.

Melt All the Guns, a bass-less, socially conscious triangular effort led by drummer/composer Devin Gray, comprises five pieces recorded in 2019 after some concerts in Canada and the US with trumpeter Ralph Alessi and pianist Angelica Sanchez. Presented not only with consistent tightness and discipline but also freedom, this selection is Gray’s response to the increase of gun violence in recent years, a social tragedy that daily affects hundreds of lives around the world.

“Think About It” boasts a temperate main theme propelled with a marching quality and a middle section that sits over accents, dynamics and rhythm excitement. The threesome moves naturally with an adventurous posture and a perfect understanding of their capabilities. In this way, their musical affinity is also in plain view throughout the elegantly sculpted “Micro Waves”, where the palpable form and the outstanding tonal balance contribute to the positive impact. With Gray and Alessi pulling off a particular rhythmic figure, Sanchez’s powerful pianistic musings shape into a chord progression that is breathtaking in its beauty.

“Jet Lag Party” starts in meditative mode, but then engages in free playing to go beyond bar lines and build tension. Alessi’s buzzing sounds and crisp, fleet phrases find a rich backdrop in the single-note pirouettes and chord crashes of the piano along with the agitation of the hi-hat and snare drum.

The album ends peacefully with the softly lyrical “Protect the Environment”, but not before a limber exploratory protest takes place with the title track, which flourishes with moments of profound reflection and energetic indignation.

The only problem with this record is its short duration, a fact that won’t stop you from fully enjoying it with an open heart.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Think About It ► 03 - Micro Waves ► 04 - Melt All the Guns

Label: Rataplan Records, 2018

Personnel - Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone; Dave Ballou: trumpet; Michael Formanek: bass; Devin Gray: drums.

Dirigo Rataplan, a genuine product of the fertile musical ground of New York, is one of the brainchildren of Brooklyn-based drummer Devin Gray, who also leads the quartets Relative Resonance and Fashionable Pop Music. This stellar chord-less quartet includes stalwarts of the ‘scene’ such as saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, trumpeter Dave Ballou, and bassist Michael Formanek, with whom Gray establishes a vital rhythmic thrust. For Dirigo’s second chapter, the drummer based himself on experiences he had over the past six years and also tried to reflect how we, as human beings, currently live in the current world.

Materializing bold modernistic impulses through a grooving, carnivalesque samba flavor, “Congruently” discloses in its title how the quartet communicates. The rhythm team weaves an unbreakable net over which Eskelin and Ballou interacts, going separate ways but eventually converging when required.

“Rollin’ Thru Town” flows freely and loosely, digressing without a particular direction. While the frontline juxtaposes insouciant phrases, the bassist pushes back and the drummer completes the scenario with colorful, freewheeling chops. The musicians find a common path by the end, rejoicing in their trajectories with a laudable affinity.

If the quietness of “The Feeling of Healing”, dedicated to Steve Grover (Gray’s former teacher in his Maine), is also prone to divagation, then the shifting “Trends Of Trending” bounces off with an astute bass groove that is momentarily interrupted to install an unanchored passage demarcated by a darker semblance. The piece regains further impetus for the final section, where dry rhythmic punches are validated by the restless horn players. There is some hints of funk in its nature, just like it happens on “The Wire”, an energetic avant-garde feast a-la Don Cherry where melodic unisons give place to an uproarious reaction while Eskellin blows with an unrestricted sense of exploration. Ballou also impresses with a sudden, energetic entrance, complemented with fulminant high-pitched attacks that never feel extreme.

Before finishing dynamically with “Micro Dosage”, a short yet adventurous piece, the quartet builds “Intrepid Travelers”, departing from an unhurriedly rubato and landing on a waltzing cadence that brings Formanek to the forefront. The bassist shows how fluid and creative he can be with melody.

Employing modern jazz patterns to describe the quotidian life, Gray is far from predictable as a composer. By proclaiming an intelligent approach to song structure with plenty of groove and diversified tempos, Gray shapes Dirigo Rataplan II as an urgent contemporary record. And of course, because each member of his quartet is a virtuoso player, it all sounds effortless and responsive, regardless of the complexity of the passages.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Congruently ► 03 - Trends of Trending ► 10 - Micro Dosage