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Manu Katché: Unstatic

By Karl Ackermann
August 11, 2016
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Drummer Manu Katché's career has been a long, circuitous one that began in rock, working for an extended period with

Peter Gabriel

vocals
b.1950

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Gabriel,

Sting

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Sting and

" data-original-title="" title="">Joni Mitchell. In the cases of Sting and Mitchell, there was a jazz sensibility present in much of their work. Simultaneously, Katché's work on the ECM label was taking shape as he appeared on a number of

Jan Garbarek

saxophone
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Jan Garbarek albums. The drummer's own ECM leader debut, Neighbourhood (2005), was well received and the first of a successful string of four releases while on that label. With Unstatic, Katché gives us a mostly understated original collection encompassing a number of world styles.

Unstatic features a core quintet and guests. Katché's long-time associate, saxophonist

Tore Brunborg

saxophone
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Tore Brunborg is joined by Italian trumpeter

Luca Aquino

trumpet
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Luca Aquino. The two had played together on Katché's Live in Concert (ACT Music Vision, 2015) along with pianist

Jimmy Watson

b.1922

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Watson who adds Fender Rhodes on this collection. A relative newcomer, Norwegian Ellen Andrea Wang plays the upright bassist and adds a bit of vocalizing and trombonist

Nils Landgren

trombone
b.1956

" data-original-title="" title="">Nils Landgren joins in on five of the eleven tracks.

All of the compositions on Unstatic were written by Katché and they cover a lot of territory. Opening with "Introducci?n"—and later with "Flame&Co"—Katché shows his Latin chops with bossa nova and samba flavors. On the latter of the two, Katché shows some real force along with a powerful saxophone solo. Bookmarked by those pieces is the title track, featuring appetizing solos from Watson and Brunborg. "City" is overtly funky while being laced with an old-world European refrain. Watson and Brunborg add their luster again on "Ride Me Up," an R&B/blues piece that morphs into funk. Wang gets her chance to shine on "Number 11."

Perhaps the indelible memory of the all-star Neighbourhood with

Jan Garbarek

saxophone
b.1947

" data-original-title="" title="">Jan Garbarek,

Tomasz Stańko

trumpet
1942 - 2018

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomasz Stańko and

Marcin Wasilewski

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcin Wasilewski pigeon-holed the drummer and set too narrow an expectation as one of "the" drummers of the new millennium. This album is more a demonstration of Katché's diverse compositional skills than his eminent talents as a percussionist. In that regard, his role here may seem more conventional that in his early days, but Unstatic should be viewed more holistically as the actor steps behind the camera and directs a quality work without ego.

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Track Listing

Introduction; Unstatic; Flame&co; City; Blossom; Daze Days; Rolling; Ride Me Up; Trickle; Out Of Sight; Number 11.

Personnel

Manu Katche

drums

Manu Katche: drums, vocals; Ellen Andrea Wang: upright bass, vocals; Jim (James) Watson: acoustic piano, keyboards; Tore Brunborg: saxophones; Luca Aquino: trumpet; Nils Landgren: trombone (1, 2, 7, 11); Abraham Rodriguez Mansfarroll: percussion (1); Joel Hierrezuelo Balart: percussion (1); Inor Esteban Sotolongo: percussion (1).

Album information

Title: Unstatic | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Anteprima Productions

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