click to download Hi-Res (photo Credit: Michelle Arcila)

Click to download Hi-Res (photo credit: Michelle Arcila)

Reviews

“One of the best introductions to a new band, and a pretty new aesthetic…” Ben Ratliff – NY Times

“…a new generation of fearless improvisers…a bold new future for jazz and improvised music.” Troy Collins – AAJ

“Trombonist/composer [Brian Drye] is a modern musician for whom jazz is but one ingredient in his music” Mark Corroto – AAJ

Bizingas
From Ben Ratliff at the New York Times 12/5/10

An excellent new band from Brooklyn, led by the trombonist and pianist Brian Drye, Bizingas mixes jazz and rock, but is — please, I promise you — about seven planets away from what we used to call fusion. On its first, self-titled album — released by NCM East — this band’s identity points all over the place: toward classical tone-rows, Deerhoof, Henry Threadgill and Charles Mingus’s rugged ensemble harmony. Its drummer is Ches Smith, and if you know how he sounds, that should give you a clue: hard and clanky and relentless, full of bashing fills. Kirk Knuffke is its trumpeter, which could likewise fill you in: learned, nimble around the instrument, tight and articulate with unexpected accents and fast runs. Jonathan Goldberger, improvising or running through written parts, plays guitar like he’s in a rock band, with a thin, dirty tone and a thirsty aggression. Meanwhile Mr. Drye settles in and stretches out on both his instruments, growing relaxed and ruminative over all the scrabbling. It’s one of the best introductions to a new band, and a pretty new aesthetic, that I’ve heard lately.

A review by Troy Collins of All About Jazz 11/27/10

Bizingas is the self-titled debut of trombonist Brian Drye’s quartet of the same name. A versatile stylist whose resume includes stints with theTommy Dorsey Orchestra, Slavic Soul Party and indie rock stars like Arcade Fire, Drye’s eclecticism is a common trait in the fertile Brooklyn scene he calls home, where his protean sensibility is best realized as sideman to artists like drummer John Hollenbeck, trombonist Curtis Hasselbring and cornetist Kirk Knuffke.

Though he has recorded frequently with the improvising chamber group, The Four Bags and the electric quartet, Slog, it was Drye’s contribution toBig Wig (Clean Feed, 2008), Knuffke’s debut as a leader, that previously offered the best example of the trombonist’s expansive technique—a clever post-modern amalgam of blustery expressionism and nimble virtuosity. Knuffke returns the favor as Drye’s frontline partner in Bizingas, with guitarist Jonathan Goldberger’s occasional use of baritone guitar and drummer Ches Smith’s dynamic kit work providing ample bottom end for the bass-less quartet.

Interpreting Drye’s sundry compositions with unified focus, the group’s infectious enthusiasm is palpable from the first notes of the anthem-like opener, “Tagger.” A gospelized rock hybrid of bustling vamps and scorching power chords, the song peaks with a pair of soaring brass crescendos from Drye and Knuffke, whose animated discourse is a constant throughout the session. Un-tempered tonal effects alternate with probing ruminations and sonorous refrains, suggesting a comprehensive and egalitarian view of jazz history, as their evanescent duo cadenza at the heart of the pithy swinger “Iluminum” reveals. Goldberger and Smith enjoy a similar rapport, with Goldberger’s ethereal volume pedal swells shadowing Smith’s scintillating glockenspiel patterns on the cinematic dirge “Stretched Thin.”

An adept composer with an ear for melody, Drye’s use of counterpoint and complex meters augments his tuneful writing; his understated lyricism unites disparate approaches whether assertive or introspective. Vigorous pieces like the syncopated funk number “Guilty,” are imbued with the same rich harmonic detail as more austere fare, like the impressionistic ballad “Sifting.” In addition to his supple trombone skills, Drye’s capable pianism is featured on a handful of tunes, as well as his analog synth programming, which lends a surreal air to the proceedings. The appropriately named “Untitled Moog Anthem” is exemplary—an evocative juxtaposition of electro-acoustic tonalities that blends reverb-drenched Ennio Morricone-esque vistas with 8-bit video game pageantry. Though unusual by conventional standards, these efforts convey the same emotional depth as more traditional pieces, such as the leader’s spare, but effective piano variations on the rhapsodic “TMT.”

Similar in its irreverent approach towards stylistic purity, Bizingas makes an excellent companion to Ches Smith’s own recently released debut, Finally Out of My Hands (Skirl, 2010). Impressive introductions to a new generation of fearless improvisers, these documents suggest a bold new future for jazz and improvised music.

A review by Mark Corroto of All About Jazz 12/5/10

Trombonist/composer Brian Drye is a modern musician for whom jazz is but one ingredient in his music. To him, the term is merely a pigeonhole, meant to typecast and eventually marginalize his work. He is not alone in this prescience, on Bizingas, Drye is accompanied by three visionary and quixotic players: cornetist Kirk Knuffke; guitarist Jonathan Goldberger; and drummer Ches Smith.

Like his other work in the Balkan music outfit Slavic Soul Party, the chamber ensemble The Four Bags, or his trombone/synth/guitar trio, Drye’s tastes are diverse and sometimes seemingly dissimilar. Bizingas writes its own protocol. The opening piece “Tagger” is built upon Smith’s rocking beat, a player whose signature has been gracing guitarists Mary Halvorson and Marc Ribot’s bands. Intertwined, Drye’s trombone and Knuffke’s trumpet bounce along with the beat as an insistent force. Knuffke has been credited of late, along with Peter Evans as the jazz trumpet’s new face, equally at home with rock, free improvised, and traditional music.

If Drye has a contemporary, it might be former boss, drummer John Hollenbeck, who shares his vision for pairing odd instrumentation. The trombone/electric guitar/cornet/drums combination has no history in modern music. When the band shifts to glockenspiel and space-age synth on “Stretched Thin,” the chamber music for George Jetson discombobulates a bit, but in a strangely satisfying way.

Drye never settles for just one sound. “Pastoral” opens, sans drums, in a sea of harmony. The waves branch into improvisations over the metallic tapping of Smith. Goldberger’s guitar phrasing gets bounced off both Knuffke and Drye. Contrast that with the lack of improvising on “Farmer,” a meditative composition, perhaps a movie soundtrack or chamber piece. Drye’s composing is influenced by pop as much as modern chamber, and minimalism.

The odd “Untitled Moog Anthem” is a sort of Ennio Morricone spaghetti western theme dosed with eerie analog synthesizers and sluggish surf guitar. Somehow nothing here feels like the one-off tune or odd man out; it all fits.