Drew Gress - The Sky Inside (2013) [Hi-Res]

Here he sets the groundwork for his own compositions. For his Pirouet album, The Sky Inside the exceptional bassist Drew Gress has assembled a first-class quintet with Ralph Alessi, Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey; the title is programmatic, unveiling the next musical open spaces of a discerning introvert.

It’s a dream group. Five musicians who have worked with the major players in jazz and in the process have themselves become a part of America’s jazz elite. On listening to this recording you are immediately taken by the beauty and expressive depth of this classic modern jazz lineup—trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass, and drums—notice that it’s alto saxophone rather than tenor saxophone, and the leader is the bassist. In other words, a musician out of the rhythm section pulls the strings. And he’s the one that holds it all together. Drew Gress was born in 1959 in New Jersey, and is one of the most sought-after bassist on the New York scene. The title of his Pirouet album is The Sky Inside; it could also be the program for this recording. The compositions are Drew Gress’ own, and they stake out a wide horizon of sound impressions and atmospherics. Gress has already played on a diversity of Pirouet productions. His rock-solid play has anchored the groups of Marc Copland, Tim Hagans, and Bill Carrothers. Here he reveals his own strong, prominent profile as composer and leader. Assembling this group wasn’t an accident. Gress brought these five together out of the New York jazz scene’s inner circle. Two of the players are partners with Drew in a trio formed at the end of the 1990’s: saxophonist Tim Berne (born in 1954), and drummer Tom Rainey (born in 1957). They named the group Paraphrase. Gress has also worked with trumpeter Ralph Alessi (born in 1963) over the years on a variety of projects. Gress is also the bassist in the star-studded quintet co-lead by Alessi and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. Pianist Craig Taborn (born in 1970) has received kudos in Downbeat over the last years. He had already worked with Tim Berne in 2001, and has appeared with Gress on a number of recordings. These are musicians who have a mutual trust, musicians who belong to the highest level of international jazz, and are among of the most in-demand players on their respective instruments.

That all sounds great, but still no quality guarantee. However, once you hear the results, there are no longer any questions of quality. Here is an abundance of moods as Drew Gress continually surprises the listener with new textures. At first, No Saint buries itself in an unwieldy bass and piano groove that is overlaid with catchy horn phrases, gradually dissolving in a tentative, searching movement that becomes wilder and wilder, then returning to the original groove, this time in a powerful, highly charged form. In Streamline the alto sax and trumpet begin with melancholy chants. Their sounds are so beautifully blended that they seem to meld into one. The piece works like a dream sequence, continuing with quiet narratives from the piano ac- companied by delicate drum accents. Long Story is raw, with a grinding trumpet sound and a chiseled counterpoint between piano and saxophone. The piece is a heated argument between the instruments. Its sister work, Long Story Short is completely different—the mood is defined by long- held horn notes that splay out through the room in heavy superimposed intervals.

As soon as you think you know this albums musical world something new pops up to amaze. The pieces continually take unexpected moves in their atmosphere and development. There are the humorous beginning melodics of Kernel, naturally underlaid with subtle colorations. You meet up with the melancholy veiled lines of Dreampop, and then are astounded by the tangential-angular motif displacements and refinement as the groove slows down and crisply steps out. Having landed on a sound-island of a piece in Jacquard, a short time later you find yourself lost in the soft, finely structured poetic sounds of Delve, and then ponder the title and the exuberantly compact action on Zaftig Redux. And then back to the title piece— The Sky Inside: the two horns reconnoiter with long, interlacing tones. Gradually, a rhythm and a beautiful drawled-out theme seem to fall back into themselves, as if it’s a scene out of some bizarre film. Then the music seeks out new sound fragments which quickly resolve in a complex, compact interplay, ending in a unique, loose groove.

The Sky Inside is not only the title piece; it’s the core. And its message could be: the inner horizon is wider and more surprising than you think. In all the pieces the band is continually challenged as a group, and it confronts the listener with a host of unpredictable moments. Again and again the group changes tempo in flowing movements as if the five musicians breathed with one breath. The pieces are pure works of organic artistic cohesion, and yet the listener has the space to admire the masterful creativity of the individual musicians—the interconnection between the horns, Pianist Craig Taborn’s superb solos and moments of interplay in which the musicians can play out unadorned expressive subtleties. From the drummer, there are the many unpretentious, low-keyed moments and times of driving intensity. And then there is the bandleader himself; his strong tone pulsates and sings on every level as he lays down the foundation with such a rich tone and gripping rhythmic precision. With his subtle, melodic solos, Drew Gress sets the example for the other players: deep tones, high standards. Multifaceted, atmospherically luxuriant pieces are wedded to the sort of implicit teamwork that only a lineup of this quality has. Put simply, it’s a dream lineup.

Drew Gress, bass, electronics
Tim Berne, alto saxophone
Ralph Alessi, trumpet
Craig Taborn, piano
Tom Rainey, drums

Tracklist:
01. Drew Gress - No Saint (9:05)
02. Drew Gress - In Streamline (5:25)
03. Drew Gress - Long Story (8:08)
04. Drew Gress - The Sky Inside (11:48)
05. Drew Gress - Kernel (5:13)
06. Drew Gress - Dreampop (8:52)
07. Drew Gress - Jacquard (2:08)
08. Drew Gress - Delve (7:13)
09. Drew Gress - Zaftig Redux (7:09)
10. Drew Gress - Long Story Short (7:20)