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Eric Revis: Sing Me Some Cry

By Mark Corroto
August 20, 2017
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Only a bassist like

Eric Revis

bass
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Revis with a background in the origins of jazz (that is, New Orleans), hardcore, funk, and post-bop can pull off such a big project as Sing Me Some Cry. Not big as in impenetrable, but circus tent big—assimilating all his experiences. From

Betty Carter

vocals
1929 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Betty Carter and

Lionel Hampton

vibraphone
1908 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Lionel Hampton to his long-standing tenure in

Branford Marsalis

saxophone
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Branford Marsalis' Quartet, and in collaboration with

JD Allen

saxophone, tenor
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">JD Allen and

Orrin Evans

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Orrin Evans, he has excelled in and inventoried multiple jazz methodologies alongside the aforementioned rock, funk, and blues.

As a leader, Revis has released seven titles. His previous outings include two pure and adventurous trio sessions with pianist

Kris Davis

piano
b.1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Kris Davis, City Of Asylum (Clean Feed, 2013), with

Andrew Cyrille

drums
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Andrew Cyrille and Crowded Solitudes (Clean Feed, 2015) with

Gerald Cleaver

drums
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Cleaver. Davis joins him here, alongside reedist

Ken Vandermark

saxophone
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Ken Vandermark from the 2012 quartet recording Parallax (Clean Feed), and he pulls drummer

Chad Taylor

drums
b.1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Chad Taylor from a subsequent quartet outing, in Memory Of Things Unseen (Clean Feed, 2014).

As a bassist, his sound is bold, a punch-you-in-the-face-

Charles Mingus

bass, acoustic
1922 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Charles Mingus bold. He can buttress an open improvisation piece like the title track here, lashing together the disparate sounds of his dissonant crew. But, we're not talking chaos for mayhem's sake. The remaining eight tracks are credited compositions, with Revis adding four, and one each for his partners, plus

Adam Rogers

guitar
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Adam Rogers "Rumples." Vandermark's "Good Company" supplies his familiar Chicago "big shoulders" sound which opens with Taylor's drum solo and dances notes on Davis' piano before saxophone and bass bring the hard groove. The gentle "Solstice....The Girls (For Max & Xixi)" features the velvety clarinet, sympathetic mallet work, (prepared?) piano, and Revis' taut bass producing the rhythms of the African continent. "Rye Eclipse" by Davis opens with an energy generator of a bass solo before uncovering the tap, tap, tap of sticks and the mechanized piano march. From the futurist landscape, Vandermark unleashes his inner-

Peter Brötzmann

woodwinds
1941 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Br?tzmann furor, and the ensuing entropy escalates until it finally evaporates. This controlled fury is at the heart of Revis' vision. Fueled by his command of pulse, the integrity of the music is maintained. His "Drunkard's Lullaby" is the musical equivalent of a drunken master Kung Fu movie where the wobbling teeter is a clever performance ruse with Revis' hand firmly holding down the pulse.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Sing Me Some Cry; Good Company; Pt 44; Solstice....The Girls (For Max & Xixi); Obliogo; Rye Eclipse; Rumples; Drunkard��s Lullaby; Glyph.

Personnel

Eric Revis

bass

Eric Revis: bass; Ken Vandermark: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Kris Davis: piano; Chad Taylor: drums.

Album information

Title: Sing Me Some Cry | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Clean Feed

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Eric Revis Concerts

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Branford Marsalis Quartet

Zellerbach Theatre
Philadelphia, PA

Feb 20 Fri

Branford Marsalis Quartet

Tribby Arts Center
Ft. Myers, FL

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