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Robby Ameen: Diluvio
ByDiluvio, Ameen's first date on the Origin Records label, calls on familiar faces and a signature blend of sounds and substances. Longtime Ameen associates like Herwig, saxophonists Troy Roberts and Bob Franceschini, bassist Lincoln Goines and pianist Bill O'Connell fit the music to a T, with an Afro-Cuban acuity, framed in malleable modern terms, serving as a through line connecting songs of varied sorts. Firestarter "Fast Eye" deals in synchronous choppy lines and high-energy grooves that bring the funk. "Cremant" cools things down a bit, coloring a patient yet resolute straight-time flow in shades of blue. "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127: Aria" uses a soprano saxophone tandem to deliver the melodious beauty of J.S. Bach while Ameen's subtle drumming and Mauricio Herrera's percussion lend this Baroque excursion a gentle undercurrent. And "Line for Lyons" recontextualizes Gerry Mulligan's medium swing scenario with lively Latin underpinnings that, nevertheless, still hint at points of origin.
For the majority of this material, Ameen favors a quintet or sextet lineup with multiple horns and/or percussion mixing it up to good effect. Two late-in-the-game offerings, however, go a different way. "Into The Clear" presents a quartet intent on playing to the stars, with Roberts delivering some twilit tenor, O'Connell gliding over the keys and Ameen using brushes to slide beneath it all; and an all-too-brief duo take on John Coltrane's "Impressions" pairs Ameen with Roberts. With an eye on music from every angle, a fluid approach to Afro-Cuban and jazz vocabularies, and four limbs that often sound like twice as many, Robby Ameen seriously delivers on Diluvio. But was there ever any thought that he wouldn't?
Track Listing
Fast Eye; Cremant; Tempest Dance; Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott, BWV 127: Aria; The Drifter's Plan; Mixology; Into the Clear; Line for Lyons; Impressions.
Personnel
Robby Ameen
drumsTroy Roberts
saxophoneBob Franceschini
saxophone, tenorConrad Herwig
tromboneEdsel Gomez
pianoBill O'Connell
pianoLincoln Goines
bassMauricio Herrera
percussionAlbum information
Title: Diluvio | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Origin Records
Comments
Tags
Robby Ameen
Album Reviews
Dan Bilawsky
Diluvio
Origin Records
Ruben Blades
Dave Valentin
Eddie Palmieri
Conrad Herwig
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez
Troy Roberts
Bob Francheschini
Lincoln Goines
Bill O'Connell
Mauricio Herrera
Gerry Mulligan
John Coltrane