Jonathan Pryor
I first encountered Rudy on 303. This album is an amazing mixture and tickles my "uniqueness" gene. I absolutely love it!
Favorite track: Missing You.
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Rudy Royston, first-call drummer with Bill Frisell, Dave Douglas, JD Allen, Rudresh Mahanthappa and a host of others, is proud to present DAY, his fifth release for Greenleaf Music. DAY is the second outing from Flatbed Buggy, the adventurous, sonically varied small group that Royston premiered on the acclaimed 2018 album of that name. Marked by the low-register richness of John Ellis on bass clarinet and Hank Roberts on cello, the tonal subtlety and harmonic depth of Gary Versace on accordion and the virtuosic authority of Joe Martin on bass, the band debuted with a musical evocation of Royston’s youth spent in rural Texas. On DAY, with the same lineup intact, Royston captures the turbulent emotional landscape of a day under quarantine.
“This record is a little more aggressive than the first,” Royston says, remarking on what he calls the “dusty” sound of Flatbed Buggy and the comparatively swinging DAY. “I’m playing a little more aggressively because the scenes I’m portraying lend themselves to that. The scenes on the first record are all outdoors so you want to feel that space and air and dust. The scenes on this one, I was inside the whole time.””
Royston dedicates DAY to two beloved souls who have passed: his brother Ritchie, and his mentor and musical brother Ron Miles, acclaimed cornetist and composer, pillar of the Denver music scene and inspiration to Royston and so many others. Coming up in Denver under Ron’s wing paved the way for Royston to impact the global jazz scene as he has, both as a leader and charter member of the JD Allen Trio on the releases Graffiti, Americana, Radio Flyer and Love Stone.
credits
released May 5, 2023
Personnel:
Rudy Royston, drums
John Ellis, bass clarinet / clarinet
Hank Roberts, cello
Gary Versace, accordion
Joe Martin, bass
Mastered by Kevin Blackler at Blackler Mastering, Brooklyn, NY, October, 2022
This music is dedicated to my late brother Ritchie Royston and my late brother Ron Miles
Thanks to God, Koleby and Kinyah Royston, Clara Royston, Hank, Gary, John and Joe, Bill Frisell, Ron Miles family, Tomoko Izumi, Dave Douglas and Alice Diamond
Cover Design, Photography, and Editing by Rudy Royston
Additional design by Lukas Frei & Robyn Ardagh
Rudy Plays Canopus Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Gibraltar Hardware and Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets
First-call drummer Rudy Royston (Bill Frisell, JD Allen, Dave Douglas) has honed a thoroughly engaging voice as a composer
and bandleader. His releases include his compelling debut '303' (2014), the raw and bracing trio follow-up 'Rise of Orion' (2016) and the chamber quintet release 'Flatbed Buggy' (2018)....more
This is a wonderful album! Dave Douglas is one of my heroes. He's more than a great musician. He has a vision for the music and a feeling for putting together a group which is unique. So, beside Joey Baron (another heavyweight and one of my absolute favourite drummers) he invited some young cats to this session. They play just great and make sure that this music sounds totally fresh, whilst at the same time being deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. Florian Arbenz
Chicago sax luminary Greg Ward develops the dual-guitar frontline of his backing Rogue Parade quintet as an avatar for singular strength on this zesty collection of jazz-rock fusion songs. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jan 10, 2019
A back and forth between meaningful narratives and casual conversations. Whatever it is it is expressed by well sounding and souvereign voices. freejazzy