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Marc Riordan Quartet: Binoculars

By Mark Corroto
February 3, 2013
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Question: when is a pianist-led recording also a drummer's record? That query, as it relates to pianist Marc Riordan's Binoculars, is not poised as a Zen koan, because there is an answer.

The correct response: when the pianist is a drummer.

Riordan, an up-and-coming percussionist in the Chicago music scene, can be heard in bands led by bassist

Jason Ajemian

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Jason Ajemian, saxophonist

Aram Shelton

saxophone
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Aram Shelton and cornetist

Josh Berman

cornet

" data-original-title="" title="">Josh Berman, and the prog/punk band Wishgift. In the improvising unit Tres Hongos, with trumpeter Jacob Wick and drummer

Frank Rosaly

drums
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Rosaly, he plays piano, as he does here.

Riordan's quartet includes fellow Chicagoan, drummer

Tim Daisy

drums
b.1976

" data-original-title="" title="">Tim Daisy, alto saxophonist Peter Hanson, and bassist Daniel Thatcher. Like drummer

Jack DeJohnette

drums
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack DeJohnette before him, Riordan is a fine pianist. Binoculars is made up of seven original tunes, all reflecting an unmistakably percussive attack not unlike that of pianist

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk.

As a composer he excels at making seemingly complex music from very similar melodies, not unlike Monk or fellow pianists

Elmo Hope

piano
1923 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Elmo Hope and

Herbie Nichols

piano
1919 - 1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Herbie Nichols. On "Funometer," the band states and reworks Riordan's theme, the pianist poking and prodding the melody as Daisy dials up the heat and intensity, forcing Hanson to wriggle and twitch to the point of meltdown, eventually returning to the theme. That pattern is repeated throughout on "Magnetic Personality" and "On The 6th." Riordan's straightforward pieces implore his quartet to deconstruct, refurbish and, eventually, reconstruct the melody.

The slower-paced "Lesson Learned" channels Monk's "Monks Mood" and gently swings the pianist's conceptions. Maybe it's because this is a drummer's piano record that Daisy's drum kit is mixed forward in the sound, highlighting the percussive nature of the music, focusing Riordan's intensions.

The lone cover is a bit of the obscure. Monk's "A Merrier Christmas" fits nicely into this outing because it's congruous with Riordon's approach. Played with a melancholy tinge, the quartet stammers across the melody with gorgeous, Monk-like pronunciation.

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Track Listing

Little Dog; Funometer; Lesson Learned; Magnetic Personality; Binoculars; On The 6th; A Merrier Christmas; I��ll Text You.

Personnel

Marc Riordan

drums

Marc Riordan: piano; Peter Hanson: alto saxophone; Daniel Thatcher: bass; Tim Daisy: drums.

Album information

Title: Binoculars | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Self Produced

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