Gang of Three (Chromatic Audio)

Andrés Vial

Released October 2019

Juno Award Nominee Solo Jazz Album of the Year 2021

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https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nC2jZPecoOhXeeWzBrAM46J6O2DRkV5II

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About:

A year after the release of his critically-acclaimed Monk tribute album, Sphereology Volume One, Montreal pianist Andrés Vial shifts gears to release Gang of Three, a trio album consisting entirely of original compositions.
Described as a “fine jazz pianist” (Scott Yanow, The New York City Jazz Record) with an “advanced harmonic sense” (Larry Hollis, Cadence Magazine), Vial wrote nine pieces over a two-year period marked by significant life events: most importantly, becoming a father; but also returning to university to complete a Master’s degree in jazz piano performance.
This new album, his fifth as a leader, finds Vial reunited with bassist Dezron Douglas and newly collaborating with drummer Eric McPherson. Vial states, “I had such a great experience recording Monk tunes on Sphereology Volume One with Dezron. He has such a beautiful, huge sound, which is important to me because I prefer to record with everybody in the same room without isolation.”
Equally important was finding a drummer who could bring fire and intensity to the music, without overpowering the bass or piano. “I asked Dez who he would recommend, considering the way that I like to record, and that the music would be modern jazz with Latin and African elements. He suggested Eric, and I immediately agreed!” Recorded in one session on April 14, 2019, Vial was “inspired by the deep musicality and in-the-moment risk-taking that Eric and Dez brought to the music. These cats never play a song the same way twice!” 

Track Listing:

1. Atonggaga Blues 4:02

2. Chacarera Para Wayne 6:46

3. Gang Of Three 4:32

4. Ferguson 5:43

5. Montaigne 5:49

6. February Waltz 7:14

7. Put Your Spikes In 5:53

8. Samba Fantasma 4:34

9. Cascades 7:07

Personnel:

Andrés Vial: piano
Dezron Douglas: bass
Eric McPherson: drums

Recorded April 14, 2019, at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, NY, by Ryan Streber
Mixed by Nicolas Pétrowski at Studio Mixart, Montreal, QC
Mastered by Ryan Morey at Grey Market Mastering, Montreal, QC
Artwork by Alejandra Bertorini
Graphic Design by Sarah Rossy
Produced by Andrés Vial

Review:

Montreal-based pianist Andrés Vial gained considerable attention and acclaim for his 2018 quartet outing, Andrés Vial Plays Thelonious Monk: Sphereology Vol. 1. With subsequent volumes of Sphereology in the works, Vial has decided to continue documenting his own development as a composer with the release of his fifth album as a leader, Gang Of Three, a trio date featuring nine original compositions recorded in a single session last April.

Joining Vial are bassist Dezron Douglas, who returns from the Sphereology sessions with his beautifully resonating acoustic sound, and drummer Eric McPherson, a new collaborator who fuels the intensity of the music without overpowering it. Vial, who studied jazz drums during his formative years, takes a percussive approach to the keyboard, using just enough touch to bring a melody to the forefront or finessing his attack to coax darker tonal shades from the piano. Vial’s inner drummer emerges in a couple of tunes built upon polymetric/polyrhythmic concepts: “Chacarera Para Wayne” is an intriguing piece that’s based on a northern Argentinian folk dance, and “Put Your Spikes In” draws inspiration from a central African Gbaya folk song (“Ba-di-heim-ha-naa-dai”).

Other highlights include album opener “Atonggaga Blues,” a 12-bar blues in 7/4 that establishes an exploratory vibe; the playful “Gang Of Three,” with its funky New Orleans feel and stylistic references to the work of pianists Monk, Bud Powell and Elmo Hope; “Montaigne,” which rides a shifting samba groove through an unsettling terrain of harmonic ambiguity; and the finale, “Cascadas,” whose descending chord melody sounds like a musical waterfall.

Ed Enright (DownBeat)