Rob Garcia 4 - The Drop and the Ocean (2011)

"The Drop and the Ocean'…on the Brooklyn Jazz Underground label, is an elastic, adventurous statement from the drummer Rob Garcia." – The New York Times
“meaningful, moving material…remarkably melodic and thoughtfully orchestrated approach...” - JazzTimes
“(a) remarkable drummer” – The Village Voice
“A prime mover in the current Brooklyn jazz scene...”- Time Out New York
“And if there’s one thing the Rob Garcia 4 has plenty of, it’s personality. Perennial pulls no punches, takes no prisoners and thoroughly satisfies.”- The NYC Jazz Record

(one of) The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2009 - The New York Observer (on Perennial, BJURecords)

For over a decade, drummer/composer Rob Garcia has been a major force on the jazz and creative music scene in Brooklyn, NYC and beyond, collaborating with some the most noteworthy musicians of our time, such as Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, Wynton Marsalis, Joseph Jarman, Diana Krall, Anat Cohen, Woody Allen, Howard Alden, Lynne Arriale, Dave Binney, Ben Monder, Scott Colley, Marty Erhlich, Chris Cheek, Myra Melford, and Vince Giordano, to name but a few. Garcia has also collaborated with other A-list musicians much too numerous to mention here. Suffice it to say, his pedigree is well established.

On September 27 Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records releases the latest creative tour-de-force from the inspired drummer /composer /bandleader, The Drop and The Ocean, the follow up to Rob Garcia’s previous, critically-acclaimed recording on BJURecords, Perennial. The Drop and the Ocean features Garcia’s working band, including two young sensations and regulars in the group for the past three years, Noah Preminger (saxophones) and Dan Tepfer (piano), as well as the future bass legend and long time friend, John Hebert.

The album is titled after the Sufi concept, which deals with the human experience as an individual (the drop), and the path to surrendering to something bigger (the ocean). Garcia explains further, “I was very inspired by this concept when a friend first brought it to me. She explained how we can try to hold so tightly to our individuality when we can let go and become the ocean.” The twelve Garcia compositions on this recording are musical contemplations and ruminations on this concept. The CD opens with the rhythmic whirlwind, “Will”, referring to the will of the individual, followed by “Boundaries”, which is about listening to what your higher-self is telling you in those challenging moments and acting upon it”, explains Garcia.

Throughout The Drop and the Ocean, Garcia includes three drum improvisations as interludes, “Flash #1, #2, and 3#” which reflect on how short and precious our time here is. Other highlights on the recording include the gorgeous ballad, “Lost By Morning” (which is about getting caught up with shoulds and shouldn’ts); “The Drop Part 2”, dedicated to the fun of being human; “River”, the path a drop travels to the ocean; “Humility”, which Garcia says is “about being a parent and those times when I have no idea what to do”; and “The Return”, “returning to our true selves, a process and an event that can happen countless times in our lives,” explains Garcia.

Clearly the release of The Drop and the Ocean is one such event for Rob Garcia, as he utilizes his compositional, drumming and band-leading skills to their full extent to share with us a set of beautiful and compelling music based on a concept that is personally inspirational.