Paloma Recio
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Personel:
- Tony Malaby, saxophone
- Ben Monder, guitar
- Eivind Opsik, bass
- Nasheet Waits, drums
Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio
at the Jazz Gallery.
New York Times Paloma Recio review
By Nate Chinen
The tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby introduced his band Paloma Recio several years ago, strictly as a New York club concern. Since then he has toured and made albums with other projects, but kept this one working. The result is that he and his band mates — the guitarist Ben Monder, the bassist Eivind Opsvik and the drummer Nasheet Waits — share an uncontrived intuition. “Paloma Recio” (New World), their debut as a band, presents that accomplishment plainly: it’s a fact. Some of the album’s 10 tracks are finely plotted, others are freely played, and one is an interpretation (of “Música Callada,” by the Catalan composer Federico Mompou). Because the musicians apply the same concentration to any task, however calm or frenzied, the hourlong program resembles a suite. Mr. Malaby plays with terse control, exploring the full and extended range of his horn, and his colleagues, Mr. Monder most strikingly, exhibit grace along with strength.
NYTimes.com
Paloma Revio Review from AllAboutJazz.com
By Troy Collins
One of New York City's most in-demand tenor saxophonists, Tony Malaby has become one of the most distinctive artists of his time. A first generation Mexican-American born in Tucson, Arizona, Paloma Recio finds Malaby delving deeper into his own personal history, abstracting Spanish-tinged melodies with the support of some of the best improvisers working today.
Focusing on Malaby's penchant for unbound lyricism, Paloma Recio (Loud Dove) is the self-titled debut of Malaby's quartet of the same name. Inspired by the same unfettered passion that spurned John Coltrane and Albert Ayler to lofty heights, Malaby's ensemble embarks on a journey that veers from euphonious ethereality ("Lucedes") to roiling turmoil ("Loud Dove").
A singular stylist, Malaby brings a wide range of expression to the tenor saxophone tradition. A vociferous soloist with a keen ear for structural dynamics, he tempers his explosive angularity with virtuosic embouchure control, pushing beyond conventional tonality with a subtly expansive harmonic palette. His ghostly cries and scorching glisses on "Alechinsky" offer a focused meditation on post-Ayler technique, while his lyrical refrains on "Sonoita" showcase his abilities in a mellifluous light.
Guitarist Ben Monder is the perfect foil for Malaby; his understated phrasing and gauzy distorted tone knits seamlessly with the tenor's breathy exhortations. The rapturously episodic "Loud Dove" reveals a multiplicity of techniques, from delicate kaleidoscopic arpeggios and shimmering atmospheric washes, to searing long tones and string bends that lift the bandstand. Often dovetailing with Malaby, their ornate cadences soar into oblivion with dramatic results; their intertwining discourse on "Boludos" is one of the most eloquent free meditations in recent memory.
Despite the emphasis on thematic development, the quartet does not lack rhythmic acuity; quite the opposite. Malaby's elastic compositions are woven from an impressionistic mosaic of melodic kernels, unfixed tempos and modulating rhythms. Left in the capable hands of bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Nasheet Waits, "Obambo" demonstrates their congenial rapport from the start, opening the album with a fluidly deconstructed variation on a lilting Afro-pop groove. Blending harmonious invention with colorful rhythmic accents, Opsvik and Waits bring Malaby's melodious sketches to life with empathetic interplay and dynamic versatility.
Paloma Recio is another stellar recording in the growing discography of one of today's preeminent tenor saxophonists. A vibrant exploration of the open-ended nature of melody, harmony and rhythm, Malaby's Paloma Recio quartet has delivered one of the most luxuriant and bracing albums of 2009.
AllAboutJazz.com