Chris Wabich has been involved in hundreds of projects over the years as drummer and/or producer as well as being a sideman for the likes of Ludacris, Sting, Leonard Cohen, the Zappa family, Omar Faruk from Turkey, Boogsie Sharpe, Sheila E., Steve Tyrell, Billy Vera, Stanley Jordan, Mark Murphy, Brian Bromberg and Larry Koonse and others. Here he is back with his latest solo release, for which he is joined by Josh Nelson (piano) and Dan Lutz (acoustic bass). I have long been a fan of jazz from drummers, indeed the very first jazz album I bought for myself was by Gene Krupa more than 50 years ago, as they approach music in a very different manner which highlights a very different side, and there is no doubt that Bill Bruford has been behind many of my personal favourites.
Wabich is one of those drummers who is fully aware of his impact on the whole sound, so he may be playing with brushes here, gently tapping on cymbals there, or not playing at all, fully understanding the impact his silence has on the arrangements. This six-track 40-minute-long instrumental album is an exercise in restraint and the use of space, and it is only by playing it on headphones that one gets the full beauty. There is a gentleness about the proceedings, and the result is full of musicality and rippling music which is a delight from beginning to end. The rhythm section are less of a foundation and more of equals with the piano, with all three musicians looking to each other to bounce the arrangements and ensure the music has vitality without anyone overshadowing another so when they do let rip, as they do for a while on “Ruby On The Old Street/1978”, all of them lift the tempo and attack, before stepping back and letting the crescendo subside away. Well worth investigating.
Rating: 8/10
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Track list:
1. Jiang 5:30
2. Ruby on the Old Street / 1978 11:01
3. Oolong 4:16
4. Magitama (on Slow Shinkansen) 6:57
5. Ancient Lake 6:27
6. Graduation 5:50