Inventive big band jazz Greg Diaz & The Art Of Imagination – BEGIN THE AGORA EP: All I can say is – WOW! For an EP album, Greg’s debut is just jam-packed with talent… here’s the player list… Greg Diaz – Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Lead Vocal, Director Ismael Vergara – Alto Sax, Clarinet Manny Echazabal – Alto Sax, Clarinet Scott Klarman – Tenor Sax Mike Brignola – Bari Sax Trumpets: Jesus Mato, Doug Michels, Seth Merlin, Kevin Wilde Trombones: Russell Freeland, Jason Pyle, Tom Warfel, Michael Nunez Eero Turunen – Piano and Keys Christian Davis – Guitar James McCoy – Acoustic & Electric Bass, Background Vocals Matt Calderin – Drums and Percussion… and each of the artists makes their presence well known with high-spirited playing on every note… one of the absolutely BEST jazz tunes I’ve heard in 2018, “Brother John-2nd Line Strut-Iko Iko” just NAILS it… this track will be spinning all OVER town as I roll through town in my 1966 GTO… I just LOVE this piece of music!
I went to Greg’s website looking for videos, but couldn’t find any… too back, ‘coz this is THE kind of band I’d love to watch in performance (maybe next album, Greg?)… no biggie, though, because the raw energy they perform with on Greg’s original cut, “Circadia“, rates way high on my scale… a totally tasty piece of jazz – well-recorded and well-performed.
Of the five compositions offered up, though, it is (without doubt) another Diaz original, “Begin The Agora”, that wins my vote for personal favorite… the tune clocks in at just over eleven minutes, so there’s plenty of room for each player to shine & shimmer – & that’s exactly what they DO… if I were a voting member for the various jazz awards – this tune WOULD be NOMINATED.
I give Greg and his players a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of a (perfect) 5.00 – meaning that he also gets my “PICK” for “best debut jazz EP”… get more information on Greg’s website. Rotcod Zzaj
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