Monday, March 14, 2016

Eva Novoa - Butterflies And Zebras by Ditmas Quartet (2016)


"Listening again to this album as I sit and write this a mere neighborhood away from the one with which this quartet shares a name, I think again of the staggering number of inventive musicians based in or closely associated with Brooklyn. For most musicians here this is beyond a cliche in 2015. Yet, as I spend roughly half the year playing music outside of Brooklyn it occurs to me that while devotees of creative music / improvisation / etc might have a surface-level notion about this, the true extent of this only reveals itself after one spends significant time spent here, and even then still only to a fractional extent. I imagine trying to play once a year with every musician around here who is either a friend, acquaintance, or someone I admire, and I'm not sure how I'd do it.

Michaël, Max, and Jeff are three of those friends with whom I am fortunate to play and they're pretty appropriately matched here, as I know all of them as irrepressibly and indefatigably creative; this recording definitely confirms that. Eva and I met years ago when we both were beginning to make our own inroads here. We've both since found ourselves enveloped by this community. Her playing and musical direction on this record establish an atmosphere of fecundity.

Not all the music made in these neighborhoods sounds like this. It's a particularly apropos fuse, though. Thanks for listening".

[From the inside liner notes]


01. Spicy Water (Jeff Davis) 5:36
02. The Drone (Eva Novoa) 7:56
03. No Direction (Max Johnson) 6:43
04. Justin (Jeff Davis) 4:47
05. Pre-Nerve Scale (Michaël Attias) 5:44
06. Jack Nicholson (Eva Novoa) 3:07
07. Coffee Stain (Eva Novoa) 7:51
08. Chinese Shingles (Eva Novoa) 4:46
09. La Part Maudite (Michaël Attias) 6:49
10. For Jeff (Eva Novoa) 7:58

Total time: 61:00 min. approx.

Eva Novoa (piano, Fender Rhodes on #3 & 8)
Michaël Attias (alto sax)
Max Johnson (bass)
Jeff Davis (drums)

Recorded at Sear Sound Studio, New York City, June 2015

Sound engineer: Amandine Pras
Mixed & mastered by Jeremy Loucas
Illustration & design by Valerie Trucchia

Produced by Eva Novoa

Executive producer: Jordi Pujol

BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

Domi