This is some of the best music I've listened to - ever!
                            Read more...
                        

                            
A drummer  and a saxophonist with widely scattered session credits get a shot to play free in Cadence's for-audiophiles-only studio, and make the most of it.
I've managed to hustle Cadence into sending a couple of CIMP batches (they release 5 CDs four times a year).... This was the best of the batch..... practically the gold star stamp of quality on left-of-center jazz records.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
By Edward Dunn 
edwardd@newsreview.com
 


This article was published on 07.17.08. 


Drummer Mat Marucci.....has a knack for delivering powerful performances in seemingly effortless packages, and he’s similarly talented at recognizing collaborators who can do the same. Combining the sense of free-bop with the sensibility of cool jazz (oh-so very Californian cool jazz), Marucci and his mates—Webb on saxes, Filiano on bass—appear to take a leisurely run through the tunes on Change Up—nine original songs, plus a cover of the Johnny Green standard “Body and Soul”—but there’s no mistaking the technical fireworks provided by all three of these rock-solid talents. Webb, in particular, shines. He displays a wonderfully lyric modalism—perhaps a nod to his time playing alongside Freddie Hubbard and Horace Silver.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
One of the characteristics of both CIMP and its sister label Cadence Jazz has been the promotion of mid-and late career performers. If a musician has something interesting to say, the labels will give him or her a forum to present it. Drummer Mat Marucci fits the bill, a musician with a short discography but experience playing with some of the best in the business from John Tchicai and Pharaoh Sanders to Buddy DeFranco.

That he has much to say is evident from the fact that what was originally scheduled as a date to produce one CD, ended up producing two. Change-Up is the second issue, but don’t think that means second rate. As is his wont producer Bob Rusch decided to issue the session in the order it was recorded, so this is really a second set.

Marucci provided most of the tunes, save for the closer “Body andSoul,” which the drummer and saxophonist Doug Webb typically use to open club dates, and one collective concoction, “Spirit Room.” Marucci’s pieces are scene setters. They have a directness that I’d expect from a drummer. The heads of “The Gamemaster” and “Change-Up” could almost be played on drums especially by someone with Marucci’s melodic inclinations. For all their surface simplicity though they provide ample material for the trio to explore. On “Change-Up” both Webb, on tenor, and bassist Filiano make use of the tune’s defining descending motif as signposts in their solos.

Webb is impressive on all his horns with the astringency of his soprano and stritch complemented by the fuller, warm tone of his tenor. His tone on the bigger horn is showcased on the probing ballad “Hard Times.” Filiano is a fine choice for the trio. He plays both melodic counterpoint under the horn and percussive counter rhythms with the drums. Throughout the leader delineates the substructure of the tunes, helping to shape the performances. Those performances, whether the abstractions “Spirit Room” or the up tempo bebop of “Alex-Lee” are always striking, reflecting a musician who makes the most of his opportunities.

David Dupont

©Cadence Magazine 2007
                            Read more...