Unblocking

Ramón Díaz

“Unblocking” is the 2nd record from this quintet and the 5th under Ramon Diaz’s leadership, after the great recognition achieved by the previous CD “Dialeg” (FSNT-241), in the Spanish and international music press (Village Voice, Jazz Special, Jazz Hot, Revista de Jazz, Tomajazz, Apolo y Baco, JAÇ, Diario Gara, Avui, etc…) and from the audience in general, considering their energetic and dynamic live performances and the awards for best record and best band 2006 from the AMJM (Catalan Musicians Asociation).

Now the band is again presenting an original repertoire, concentrating on compositions where melody mixes with improvisation, creating spaces where the listener can absorb the music without moving away from it’s fundamental concept, and laying out some fresh tracks completely fusioned with contemporary tendencies. With a more compact sound and a clear demonstration of their evolution as a group, we rediscover that strong live performance which has always been characteristic of them.


Tracklisting:

01. Unblocking
02. Ocean Legacy
03. Bad Milk
04. Demasiado Tráfico
05. Dioses de papel
06. Danzarina
07. Suite canaria
08. Bombo Clart


Recorded in Girona, 2007.

Personnel:
Ramón Díaz (d), José Alberto Medina (p, Fender Rhodes), Jeppe Rasmussen (ts, ss), Idafe Pérez (tp, Flgh) and Luismo Valladares (b).


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Notes:

"È questo un quintetto dalle dinamiche consolidate, già messe felicemente in atto nel suo primo CD Dialeg per la Fresh Sound. Il suo codice di stilistico di riferimento è l’hard-bop degli anni ’50, debitamente riattualizzato ed arricchito dalla sensibilità mediterranea. Una formula riproposta con nerbo e convinzione in questo suo più recente CD, che presenta tutti i pregi ed i limiti di un clichè sin troppo abusato.
Informati da un flusso sonoro energico e vitalistico, gli otto brani di “Unblocking” scorrono fluidi tra gli obbligati e i gustosi voli solistici dei tre fiati. Ne discende un sound arioso di base molto ben suonato e congegnato, senza però dar luogo ad architetture narrative mobili. Costruzioni rigide, anche se ben strutturate, su cui pende una griglia rigida che ingabbia il tutto, come la tela di un ragno.

In mancanza di grosse sorprese inerenti la progettualità e la messa in atto delle strategie interpretative, l’attenzione del recensore si è concentrata sulle buone individualità del gruppo formato da quattro musicisti spagnoli ed un danese. Si distingue in particolare Jeppe Rasmussen, sassofonista completo nel suo saper contemperare fluidità, precisione e ricchezza armonica. Lo stesso dicasi per il giovane trombettista Idafe Perez, promessa emergente del jazz iberico."

Maurizio Zerbo - All About Jazz


"Okay, this act doesn't really qualify for "up and coming" status: drummer Ramon Diaz's outstanding quintet has been a fact of life on the Spanish jazz scene for several years. That being said, Unblocking may be the first chance for the rest of the world to experience the weapons-grade chemistry that boosts this astonishing set of originals to dizzying heights. It contains a sound and a compositional aesthetic that has deep roots in trumpeter Miles Davis' Nefertiti (Columbia Records, 1967), the release that held the first clues about the soon-to-be-earthshaking change in Davis' creative direction. Diaz's overall textural work and out-section drum solos demand considerable attention, but the telepathic interplay between horn player Idafe Perez and reedman Jeppe Rasmussen grabs the big headlines, while Jose Alebrt Medina commutes between piano and Fender Rhodes to give each tune the tweaks it needs to go from Good to Better, and from Better to Best."

J. Hunter -All About Jazz

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