Mat Marucci - Album Reviews

Mat Marucci

Sacramento, CA

Album Reviews

Jazz Monthly

Mat has numerous critically acclaimed recordings to his credit as a leader and others as a sideman, including those with John Tchicai and Jimmy Smith, and is also the author of several books on drumming for both Lewis Music and Mel Bay Publications. Live at the Jazz Bakery is a pleasure to listen to. This is one you'll want to listen to over and over.

http://jazzmonthly.com/recommended_jazz/recommended.php

Sacramento News & Review

Sacramento’s jazz scene lives under the radar, yet somehow drummer Mat Marucci and saxophonist Doug Webb fly above. The duo, known as Mat Marucci-Doug Webb, gig at Savannah’s and JB’s Lounge and, occasionally, put out records, like the recent 2009 release Partners in Crime. This time, billed as the Mat Marucci-Doug Webb Trio featuring Reno-Tahoe area bassist Joe Dolister, the sound is absent the often standard pianist, but the result is still both friendly and bold: nine searing jazz tracks, varying from the jivey and uptempo title song—what with Webb’s unrelenting sax and Marucci’s knee-popping backbeat—to the aptly titled “Slow Cookin’” with its wandering ride-cymbal clang and Webb’s meandering tenor. Engineered by Eric Gale, Partners is a great local listen that will appeal to both jazz enthusiasts and also lonely hipsters looking to branch outside the indie-electro wiggle. Oh, Marucci also is a longstanding local drum instructor; check out his forthcoming Mel Bay Publications book, Jazz Drumming Essentials (and More), if you want to bone up on the kit and, just maybe, record your own trio someday. (Better practice.)
Nick Miller

Downbeat Magazine

Cadence Magazine

Sacramento Bee

Drummer-composer Mat Marucci and saxophonist-composer Doug Webb have a near- perfect musical partnership.

They've made a distinctive pair of recordings for the independent Cadence Jazz label, highlighting an adventurous, free-spirited sensibility. Their latest release, "Partners in Crime" is actually the first recording they made.

The tracks were recorded live at Savanna's Lounge in October 2004 with bassist Joe Dolister. Marucci and Webb originally used the music as demos to show what their piano-less trio would sound like. They played originals, including the aggressive title tune, alongside arresting versions of classics such as "Have You Met Miss Jones?" and "Alone Together." The music grew on Cadence owner Bob Rusch, and he finally decided to release the set.

Marucci and Webb are in sync throughout, and while they swing hard, it's the ballads that really engage. On the Eastern-influenced blues "Slow Cookin' " Webb's soprano crafts a spell over Marucci's light-grooving pulse.

Marcus Crowder

http://www.sacbee.com/music/story/2230543.html

Cadence Magazine

This Marucci-Webb collaboration predates the remarkable CIMP recordings by this well matched team (CIMPs 346 and 356). This trio recording‚ made live in 2004 in Sacramento, California‚ is a nice combination of originals and standards. Those familiar with their previous releases will immediately recognize the style of this one's accessible inventiveness. If this is a crime, it sure is a pleasureable one.

http://www.cadencejazzrecords.com/albums/?album=786497570928

Downbeat Magazine

Cadence Magazine

ejazz news

Drummer/educator Mat Marucci and his saxophonist of choice, Doug Webb, flew in from California to join first-call jazz bassist Ken Filiano at this record label’s upstate N.Y., studio to record this session. As a drummer, Marucci’s solid compositions largely feature memorable themes amid variable rhythmic structures. And it's a democratic engagement, where all parties enjoy ample soloing space.

The band professes many different colors and shades here. They’re tight, loose and garrulous. And Marucci is a catalyst throughout, especially during the band’s often power-packed free-jazz and free- bop jaunts. On “Hard Times,” the drummer’s tom-tom based press rolls spawn a spiritual theme, filled with lament but revved up by Webb’s contrasting tonalities. With this piece in particular, it’s blues without borders.

One of the striking elements of this session pertains to the trio’s multifaceted line of attack. Nothing gets stale or overwrought. As the composition titled “Upstate Connection,” is accentuated by Marucci’s brisk brushwork in support of Filiano’s intricately executed lines -- all integrated into a scrappy duet movement.

They close it all out with a spunky rendition of “Body and Soul,” which serves as the lone standard on this outing. For selfish reasons, I wish Marucci would record more often. A superfine progressive jazz sojourn, it is. Glenn Astarita

Cadence Magazine

One of the characteristics of both CIMP and its sister label Cadence Jazz has been the promotion of mid-and late career performers. If a musician has something interesting to say, the labels will give him or her a forum to present it. Drummer Mat Marucci fits the bill, a musician with a short discography but experience playing with some of the best in the business from John Tchicai and Pharaoh Sanders to Buddy DeFranco.

That he has much to say is evident from the fact that what was originally scheduled as a date to produce one CD, ended up producing two. Change-Up is the second issue, but don’t think that means second rate. As is his wont producer Bob Rusch decided to issue the session in the order it was recorded, so this is really a second set.

Marucci provided most of the tunes, save for the closer “Body andSoul,” which the drummer and saxophonist Doug Webb typically use to open club dates, and one collective concoction, “Spirit Room.” Marucci’s pieces are scene setters. They have a directness that I’d expect from a drummer. The heads of “The Gamemaster” and “Change-Up” could almost be played on drums especially by someone with Marucci’s melodic inclinations. For all their surface simplicity though they provide ample material for the trio to explore. On “Change-Up” both Webb, on tenor, and bassist Filiano make use of the tune’s defining descending motif as signposts in their solos.

Webb is impressive on all his horns with the astringency of his soprano and stritch complemented by the fuller, warm tone of his tenor. His tone on the bigger horn is showcased on the probing ballad “Hard Times.” Filiano is a fine choice for the trio. He plays both melodic counterpoint under the horn and percussive counter rhythms with the drums. Throughout the leader delineates the substructure of the tunes, helping to shape the performances. Those performances, whether the abstractions “Spirit Room” or the up tempo bebop of “Alex-Dee” are always striking, reflecting a musician who makes the most of his opportunities.

David Dupont

Sacramento News & Review

Allmusicguide.com

Drummer Mat Marucci and saxophonist Doug Webb worked together on several different projects over a several-year stretch, though this may be their most accessible program since it was not only recorded live, but contains a compelling mix of familiar works and potent originals. With bassist Kerry Kashiwagi providing the third voice of the trio, they open with a blazing take of "A Night in Tunisia" in which no one will miss the absence of a trumpet or piano, with Webb's infectious tenor followed by Marucci's powerful yet brief solo. The same statement fits their extended (but never dull) treatment of "Take Five" -- Kashiwagi stealing the show with an intricate solo. Webb switches to soprano for a relaxing exploration of the standard "Star Eyes," with the trio alternating between Latin rhythm and bop. The drummer composed two songs, the sauntering blues "Blues Suspension," an effective showcase for Webb's understated yet searching soprano sax, along with the adventurous cooker "Riff For Rusch," which shows the unmistakable influence of John Coltrane, a vehicle for Webb's burning tenor. Webb's light-hearted "No Lesser Evil" is helped by Marucci's crisp brushwork. Recommended.

http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fcfyxzyjldse

AllAboutJazz - Italy

The second volume of the recording session in Bob Rusch’s Spirit Room - after 3 The Hard Way - Mat Marucci’s trio picks up where it left off from the previous disc according to the CIMP philosophy guidelines: no mixing and no post editing what has already been recorded. Everything comes published in the order in which it was executed in the studio without getting rid of anything.

The three musicians are continuing the adventure and the pleasure of playing together again after so long. The joy seems to float in the notes and verve in which they deal with compositions, all performed in a tone that is very free, a free structure where there are very energetic solos by Doug Webb, without posing too many kinds of problems. The music acts as the master. "Body and Soul" which closes the session as if it is the witness, with the enterprising Mat Marucci who makes like the devil behind the four drums and certainly would have done whatever it took to grasp a colloquial atmosphere with the saxophonist mostly linked to the mainstream and bop. Here everything continues regularly between Coltranism and fast-paced: the new frontier. A ballad in an up-tempo version, but none of the beauty of the melody is lost.

The first songs ride the shadows of New Thing, in order, avoiding to redo experiments already done that were not successful, and one leaves immediately grasping the chance to establish a colloquial atmosphere, that, almost before the public of a club, looks easy, involving the jazz that sounds so strong and the public who drags themselves to go, but this time listens at home.

Vittorio Lo Conte

Sacramento Bee

This sterling live set from locally based drummer- composer Mat Marucci captures the essence of his progressive mainstream working band.

Marucci has been prolifically turning out fine records for the Cadence label, and he recorded "No Lesser Evil" last year at Savanna's Jazz Lounge.

Marucci and Los Angeles-based saxophonist Doug Webb have had a long association, mostly working in a piano-less trio format. Here bassist Kerry Kashiwagi rounds out the trio. The spareness works especially well for Marucci, a particularly tuneful percussionist whose best work is often quiet and subtle.

Though Webb isn't an especially big-toned player on either tenor or soprano, his expansive solos have a bright and energetic logic that makes particular sense with Marucci's light, propulsive touch.

Marucci explains in his liner notes how the record reflects the group's approach to a live set with originals alternating with classics of various genres from blues to funk, always with the band's own creative twists.

They open with the classic "A Night In Tunisia" followed by Marucci's dusky, low-keyed groover "Blue Suspension." With Webb on soprano the tune echoes of Coltrane and Yusef Lateef. Webb's Monkish title track and an extended "Take Five" also stand out.

Marcus Crowder

http://www.sacbee.com/music/story/258688.html

Cadence Magazine

Creative Jazz needn’t reach the leading edge in order to deliver its unique surprises. Through time and work, a sense of tradition can be married with new ideas seamlessly and naturally. The Mat Marucci-Doug Webb Trio takes are a concert performance at Savanna’s Lounge in northern California that emphasizes creativity but relies, nevertheless, on tradition for its building block foundation. Saxophonist Webb and drummer Marucci stretch out over a session of original material and eccentric standards. They both reach for limits that aren’t found in the mainstream. Marucci thunders with a percussive sparkle that twists and turns with surprises at every corner. His accents can turn the tide of a ballad or stop the motion of a groove-oriented romp. As a Straight- Ahead performer who’s teamed up with Eddie Harris, Jimmy Smith, James Moody and other mainstreamers, Marucci has also paid his dues in creative circles with artists such as John Tchicai and Pharoah Sanders. He and saxophonist Webb enjoy both ends of the musical spectrum, looking to the Avant Garde for direction while also following a path that has wider acceptance. With this session, they work with standards and such, preferring to limit their creative improvisation to soloing. Webb’s soulful tenor fits comfortably on the side of the Modern Mainstream, while his soprano creates an exotic flavor that recalls Sidney Bechet. Bassist Kerry Kashiwagi eschews the leading-edge creativity of his partners and aims instead for the Straight-Ahead. It works for the trio, since his rhythmic and harmonic foundation provides a significant force. When they stop for Kashiwagi to take a solo passage, the scene is not as thrilling as it is when the two leaders stretch out. Instead, he provides a necessary balance that makes this session work quite well. Recommended, combines the creative arts with convention in a spirited affair.

by Jim Santella, Cadence Magazine 2007

Sacramento News & Review

It’s refreshing to hear jazz played without pretension. Seriously. Free-form solos so obtuse you can’t cut them with a Ginsu knife can be great, no doubt. But drummer Mat Marucci and saxophonist Doug Webb, along with Kerry Kashiwagi on bass, have made a contemporary-jazz CD that’s a pleasure to listen to, not just experience. Webb gets into some great Trane-like soloing, especially on a cover of Paul Desmond’s “Take Five.” And then there’s the Marucci original, “Blue Suspension,” which might easily have been at home on Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage. Not to say the music is derivative or that there isn’t some out-there stuff, like Webb’s solo on “Riff for Rusch” or Marucci’s on “Take Five.” But, overall, this is tame and tuneful, and that ain’t at all a bad thing.

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=315554

All About Jazz - Italy

Drummer Mat Marucci is known by students of his instrument and for books he has written, but not as well known to jazz aficionados, due to his absence from recording studios since 1995, until a few years ago when Bob Rusch fished him back. But as we can listen in this recording, Marucci's qualities haven't lost any luster with the passing of time. For this studio recording Marucci brought with him saxophonist and sideman from older dates, Doug Webb. The two musicians were joined in New York with bassist Ken Filiano, another old collaborator with whom they had lost touch for quite a while. The recording session was completed, including breaks, in ten hours, with songs rehearsed a few times; in those hours the musician's quickly gained confidence in playing the compositions brought by the volcanic drummer.

Two full records came out from the session with some songs presented in two versions, for the reluctance of the producer to throw away very valuable material that the musicians infused with energy moving on a very modern mainstream path, and let everything go, like on Riff For Rusch, where they unload flashes of pure adrenaline when Doug Webb goes to the tenor saxophone.

With the compositions and forms finalized and conceived for a free flowing trio, the musicians perform more than well their task and it should be noted the good syntony occurring between the three during the recording with music that flows free, joyful, finding connection with an audience that unfortunately, at least for now, will only be confined in the digital realm.

(it is unfortunate that the audience can enjoy the music only digitally... on cd rather than through other venues.)

http://italia.allaboutjazz.com

Sacramento Bee

Drummer and composer Mat Marucci has been for a long time quite simply a musician's musician. The locally based jazz artist has been a noted sideman for some time, supporting the likes of organist Jimmy Smith and saxophonists as diverse as Eddie Harris and Pharaoh Sanders. While Marucci displays versatility in a supporting role, he has a clear, definitive personality as leader, which comes through in his latest release on CIMP records, "3 the Hard Way." The excellent collection of original, edgy mainstream Marucci compositions was recorded a year ago in upstate New York with saxophonist Doug Webb and bassist Ken Filiano.

Marucci has personally distinctive drum sound -- a light skipping touch but with an insistent pulse and almost subliminal drive. It's a nearly perfect sound for the openness of his piano-less trio, thanks to the melody and musicality the drummer brings to the music.

Happily, Marucci's feel for the personally based tunes such as "Waltz for Therese," which he wrote for his daughter, or "Prince of the Night," dedicated to his father, is transferred to his two collaborators on the session. Marucci has had long associations with both Webb and Filiano, and their confidence in each other and compatibility shows throughout -- but especially on the memorable "Vi-tality" and the free sounding "Riff for Rusch."

Most jazz records are made more or less live in the studio, but CIMP (it stands for Creative Improvised Music Projects) has an added twist, which Marucci explained.

"It's done live, there's no monitors, no headphones, just one huge stereo microphone," he says. "Everything you hear on the record -- all the levels and dynamics -- are done by the musicians." There are no edits and there no postproduction "fixing" of the sound quality.

The session at CIMP's studio yielded enough for two albums, and the next one, called "Change Up," comes out in late spring.

Marcus Crowder

For the complete review w/photo.......
http://www.sacbee.com/122/v-email/story/103203.html

JazzReview.com

Recorded at the record label's upstate New York studio, this trio pronounces an in-the-groove mindset, spanning variable tempos, tonal shades and levels of intensity. And the track list appears in the exact order of the actual performances. On the opener titled 'Waltz for Therese', Doug Webb's blithe soprano sax phrasings ride atop a jazz-waltz motif, where a fragile beauty evolves into a frenzied, progressive jazz vista. No doubt, it's a democratic engagement via the trio's hybrid, loose-vibe and tightly-focused gait.

The respective musicians afford themselves ample soloing space, where expansion and contraction counterbalances military march patterns, fluid ostinatos and probing frameworks. As a tenor saxophonist, Webb morphs a gutsy attack with a raspy edge and soul-stirring chops. On 'Caught in the Webb', he generates John Coltrane-like modalities by soaring skyward and re-engineering numerous melody lines. Therefore, he transmits a sense of spirituality, which of course, is very indicative of Trane's final phase.

Bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Mat Marucci also lay down jazz-funk pulses. But one of the many highlights resides within the trio's mirroring of Dave Brubeck's 'Take Five', as the musicians expound upon a 5/4 time signature, featuring Webb's airy, yet slightly ominous tenor sax choruses. Nonetheless, divergence and the artists' notable camaraderie provides the so-called winning edge throughout.

Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita

Bad Alchemy Magazine [Gemany]

On 3 The Hard Way (CIMP #346) we meet again Mat Marucci presenting own material supported by reliable bass player Ken Filano and with his long-time partner Doug Webb 'singing' lead with soprano and tenor sax and strich. Titles like 'The Rumble' indicate that Marucci has a temperament congenial to Lou Grassi. And 'Vi-tality' underscores the passion of this post-bop trio that, although not reinventing the wheel, makes it spin emphatically and joyfully. The familiar aspects that give CIMP and the Spirit Room Sessions its cozy touch are reflected in Marucci's pieces that are from beginning to end filled with [my] own familiar inspirations and emotions. This is well matched by Bob Rusch confessing here CIMP's agenda with extra explication: "The aim for me on this (and any) recording of creative improvised music is to get past the right notes, the perfection of the form, and bring the human inventiveness, joy, grief, and passion into the music from the artists and then into their individual playing to become one whole, greater than their sum."

R. Dittmann

DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY - NY

BRUCE LEE GALLANTER REVIEWS RECENT RELEASES:

MAT MARUCCI/DOUG WEBB/KEN FILIANO TRIO - 3 The Hard Way (CIMP #346; USA) Featuring Mat Marucci drums & compositions, Doug Webb on stritch, soprano & tenor saxes and Ken Filiano on bass. CIMP and Cadence Jazz discs continue to introduce us to fine new jazz or creative musicians with many of their CDs. At about 450 CDs between both labels, there are upwards of 100 plus musicians who would not have been heard from otherwise. I had not heard of Mat Marucci before this, but it turns out that he has a few other discs out on Timeless, Jazz Inspiration and one previous to this on Cadence Jazz. He has worked with the likes of John Tchicai, Pharoah Sanders and Kenny Burrell. I had also not heard of saxist Doug Webb before this, although he has worked in big bands as well as with Horace Silver & Freddie Hubbard. Former LA-based bassist, Ken Filiano, can be heard on dozen of discs on Nine Winds, as well as more recent CDs since he has moved to the NY area, with Dom Minasi, Paul Smoker, Fred Hess and Vinny Golia.
Commencing with "Waltz for Therese", which is a sort of waltz featuring some fine, spirited soprano sax from Doug and strong bass solo from Ken. "The Rumble" is a great uptempo march with Mat's great snare work keeping the fast shuffle spinning hard, as Doug takes a long feisty soprano solo. Ken also takes a riveting solo as Mat taps out the quick stream of notes right with him. On "Riff for Rusch", Doug has a Trane-like tone on his tenor, strong and self-assured with the powerful rhythm team providing a most impressive undertow. An excellent excursion. Doug plays some truly fine stritch (a straight alto sax) on "Caught in the Webb", that solid rhythm team spinning around him, building as they ascend. "Euro-Jazz" has a 'Bitches Brew'-like groove with some fine slow burning sax. What stands out throughout is Mat's writing that provides the bass and drums with intricate patterns to maneuver within. Strong Medicine from a tried and true trio. - BLG

Cadence Magazine

All Music Guide

Review by Scott Yanow
Veteran drummer Mat Marucci plays in the Sacramento area with German pianist Markus Burger in different settings. For his Cadence release, Marucci plays with Burger in a trio, a quintet (with saxophonists John Tchicai and Doug Webb) and a nonet. Eight of the 11 selections are free improvisations and these are generally quite coherent due to the high musicianship of the players and the longtime musical communication between Burger and Marucci. Tchicai and Webb have contrasting but complementary styles, the three different bassists (one in each format) all work out well and Tchicai's closing calypso "Time Inside Part II" wraps up the set nicely. This is a successful outing of adventurous and frequently exciting music.

Onefinalnote.com

by David Dupont

The “s” on the end of drummer Mat Marucci and pianist Marcus Burger’s project Ensemble Sounds proves to be telling. On Genesis, they explore three different ensemble structures—a core trio, a two-saxophone quintet, and a raucous nonet where the larger ensembles build on the textures established by the smaller groups. Marucci and Burger frontload the CD with cuts featuring the trio, opening the session with the aptly titled “Atmosphere”. The piano splashes plinking chords and Marucci strokes his cymbals, eliciting a dry tone with minimal ring. Bassist Robb Fisher takes the lead with tumbling figures that pile up and dissipate by track’s end.

Two more trio tracks are more aggressive, with Burger issuing torrents of sound as the trio ebbs and flows as a unit. On “Fractured” he subtly shifts and alters the cells that make up those cascades. The trio’s last appearance, “Timepiece”, comes immediately after the first nonet piece “Big Bang”, which is placed smack dab in center of the eleven-track session like a bull’s eye. It echoes the mood of “Atmosphere”—in a word, “atmospheric”. This connection serves to resolve the trio’s suite within the larger progression of the work.

The trio’s sense of ensemble is evident on the four quintet tracks. Scattered throughout the session, they serve as binder for the disparate ensembles. Saxophonists Doug Webb and John Tchicai have a keen ear for two-horn interplay. “Genesis” is built of a simple diatonic melody that every now and then wanders off the harmonic path. Towards the end Tchicai introduces a wistful, march-like tune. “Eurojazz” has bassist Fred Randolph playing a loose, loping funk beat while Marucci lays out a steady stream of on the beat quarter notes. The drumming grows more complex under Webb’s soprano solo, but then reverts to simpler form when Tchicai comes in on tenor. Tchicai, more than Webb, locks in with the rhythm section’s groove rather than playing against it. “Duality” is all agitated exploration—quite the contrast to the session’s closing quintet track, “Time Inside part II”, a sprightly Afro-jazz groove tune penned by Tchicai.

The three tracks featuring the nonet not surprisingly have a denser sound. Yet Burger and Marucci take care that these spontaneously composed pieces retain a sense of form. “Big Bang” alternates scrappy ensembles with solo statements from the horn section now including Steve Gundhi on alto sax, Tony Passarell on baritone sax, and Steve Roach on trumpet. “Conference of the Chiefs” has the collective trading licks with the drummer, mimicking Marucci’s rhythms by the melodic contours of his tom tom lines. “Black Hole” has individual members stepping forward in turn to splay splashes of sound onto the musical canvas as if to test what will stick.

What sticks in my inner ear from Genesis is the sense of balance between the intellectual seriousness and reach and the freeform sense of abandon.

Sacramento Bee

Truly improvised music needs a courageous spirit and unfailing trust by both the musicians and the audience. On this newly released recording of two locally recorded and produced sessions co-led by drummer Mat Marucci and pianist Markus Burger, improvisational spirit and trust are given energetic workouts. The recording, made possible by grants from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and the Samuel Allen Foundation, includes a number of Sacramento's finest jazz artists, and the setting is mostly free and unstructured. The ringer on the recording is saxophonist John Tchicai, a former area resident who lives in France, but who participated in sessions, adding his virtuosity and confidence-inspiring presence. While three of the 11 tunes have written themes from which the players then departed, most of the music was created spontaneously from subtle musical suggestions. Marucci and Burger use three different bassists and expand their group from a trio to a quintet and eventually a nonet on different tunes. The trio pieces are effective tone poems and the four quintet tunes with guest artists Tchicai and Doug Webb on saxophones have the strongest group dynamics. The more anarchic free jazz nonet tracks include Steve Gundhi on alto saxophone, Tony Passarell on baritone sax and Steve Roach on trumpet.

Marucci's "Eurojazz," dedicated to local jazz svengali Glenn Ito, is the album's highlight, featuring the drummer's distinctive surging dynamics and striking interplay among Burger, Webb and Tchicai. The trio performance "Timepiece" emphasizes Burger's clean, crystalline sound and his strong rapport with bassist Robb Fisher. Tchicai's calypso-driven "Time Inside Pt. II" closes the album in an almost giddy upbeat mood, which dramatically contrasts with the rest of the record's starkness.

Marcus Crowder

All About Jazz - Italy

Vittorio Lo Conte

L'incisione di quest'album e' avvenuta in una situazione che avrebbe spaventato chiunque: uno studio che manca di monitor e cuffie e artisti provenienti da citta' e nazioni diversi che non hanno ne' il tempo per ri-incontrarsi e ne' quello per cercare uno studio piu' attrezzato! Il risultato, tuttavia, conferma la professionalita' di questi musicisti, riuniti sotto la direzione del pianista tedesco Markus Burger e del batterista americano Mat Marucci, bravissimi a tradurre in musica le visioni dei due leader.

I due leader hanno usato tre formazioni e ben tre bassisti al fine di dare la massima varieta' nelle esecuzioni alle loro numerose idee e messo tutto insieme sul CD.

Per gli ascoltatori il risultato di Genesis e' di sicuro interesse, anche se piu' che un CD pensato a tavolino si tratta della testimonianza di un incontro di musicisti provenienti da luoghi - geografici e musicali - diversi. Lo si puo' ascoltare programmando il CD-player in maniera da ascoltare i brani in trio, in quintetto o le due improvvisazioni per nove musicisti separatamente, e non nell'ordine con sui sono stati pubblicati. Si apprezzano cosi' meglio i momenti lirici insieme a quelli free in trio ed il dialogo di Marucci e Burger insieme ai bassisti Robb Fisher e Fred Randolph. Il quintetto con i sassofonisti Doug Webb e John Tchicai ed il nonetto insieme a musicisti californiani si svolgono ancora su altre direttive - dal collettivo free a momenti piu' astratti - utilizzando al meglio i musicisti coinvolti.

Probabilmente l'imprevista poverta' di attrezzatura tecnica in studio ha impedito che da questa session spuntassero tre dischi diversi. Si tratta materiale musicale raggruppato in un unico disco ma che manca di una vera visione d'insieme.

Valutazione: * * *

The tracks of this album happen in a situation that could frighten anyone: a studio that had no monitors or headphones provided for the artists from different cities and countries and no time to go back and look for a studio with a little better equipment. The result, all in all, confirms the professionalism of these musicians united under the direction of the German pianist Markus Burger and American drummer Mat Marucci translates to excellence in the musical vision of the two leaders.

The two leaders use three formats and three good bassists, in the end getting the maximum variety to the performances they put together on the cd.

For the listeners, the result of 'Genesis' is sure interest and also a cd to make them think of and deal with the encounter of musicians from different musical styles and geography. Listen by programming the cd player so that you hear the trio, quintet and the two improvisations with the nine musicians separately, and not in the order that is on the cd. In this way, one can appreciate there are many good moments and lyricism in the free playing of the trio dialogue between Marucci and Burger along with bassists Robb Fisher and Fred Randolph. The quintet with saxophonists Doug Webb and John Tchicai and the nonet with all the other California musicians take another direction...from collective free, to abstract moments....putting to good use the involvement of the musicians.

The technical problems with the equipment in the studio at the beginning probably could have impeded this session to produce three different discs. It looks like the musical material assembled is on one disc but lacks of a true whole vision.

All About Jazz

By Clifford Allen

Like a quote worked into a freewheeling improvisation, sometimes the real grounding for a piece (or pieces) of music is the players involved. Whatever direction the improvisation takes, the arisal of a constant provides a ground or context for the art at hand. Take, for instance, Eric Dolphy's lengthy bass clarinet improvisation on “Softly As In a Morning Sunrise,” at a University of Illinois concert in 1963 (The Illinois Concert, Blue Note). Dolphy obliquely references the timeworn theme throughout his solo, never stating it initially, rather building an idea of the material before the material itself is brought in to close out the piece. Two or three players worked into a multitude of improvisational settings likewise provide a referential ground for cohesion, even if the number and nature of players change frequently over the course of a record, as is the case with Genesis, the latest offering from California drummer Mat Marucci and German pianist Markus Burger.

Recorded in Sacramento, where Marucci and Burgur teach (the latter an adjunct at Sacramento State, the former at American River College), Genesis is their first recording together. For the occasion, they place themselves in three very distinct contexts—a trio; a quintet with two saxophonists (including the storied Danish-Congolese hatchet-man and sometime actor John Tchicai); and a nonet. Whatever the context, the music's focus is primarily on free improvisation, or at least loosely structured pieces—a significant direction considering that a number of the participants had not played together before.

The record is additive in its fire; “Atmosphere” is a stark, repetitious piano figure initiating an icy, open air to the proceedings—yet as Tchicai and Doug Webb enter on tenors for the title track, that sheen is scoured considerably. At faster tempos, Marucci's distracted yet “on” sense of time reminds me of Joe Chambers or Anthony Williams, while Burgur's keening repetitions and understated chords echo Herbie Hancock at his avant garde finest. Here, the feel is reminiscent of Williams' Spring or Wayne Shorter's The All-Seeing Eye, which, incidentally, included a similarly-paced composition called ”Genesis.”

Yet as open and intense as the music gets, Marucci and Burger have a genuine rhythmic rapport, an ever-expanding and contracting sense of kinetics that propel reed sections forward as well as act as part of an extraordinarily cohesive trio. Burger is not always subtle, though; his piano-string antics and penchant for Gypsy-like rhythmic figures ally him with Burton Greene and other purveyors of extended technique.

From the perspective of the rhythm section's strength, the nonet tracks might be the least successful here; though Marucci is a sure propellant to any soloist, the reed section has a tendency to take over the proceedings and Burger especially seems a bit buried and his solos flustered in this context. Yet a workshop atmosphere pervades these pieces, and where would the dynamic duo be without having to stay on its toes?

Genesis is valuable proof of not only the flexibility of two musicians, but how improvisation works on a grander scale. Adaptability of material—not just phrases and notes, but the material of players and of interplay—is central to creative music. Judging from the expanding possibilities here, Mat Marucci and Markus Burger are keenly aware.

Jazz Time Magazine

By David Zych

Drummer Mat Marucci returns to recording after a seven-year hiatus with a challenging lineup of originals and standards that sparkle with swing, clarity, and invention.

The opening title tune by Marucci sets the tone for the recording, with the soprano of Doug Webb positively in orbit, pianist Biff Hannon cruising infectiously, and some great bass work from Bob Maize. The cut lets everyone shine and previews the musicianship to come, including Webb again jazzing up Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do" and his meaty soloing on Mingus' "Reincarnation of a Lovebird." Other cuts feature performances by avant-garde saxophonist John Tchicai, pianist Aaron Garner, and Al Bent on bass.

Several cuts are in the trio format, sans Webb, with Marucci's deft touch never overpowering or bombastic. Monk's "Rhythm-a-ning" has Mat really percolating, and Hefti's "Li'l Darling" is totally unique, with Maize enjoying himself immensely.

This is one solid recording that deserves to be heard and certainly will be enjoyed.

http://jazztimes.com/articles/10531-ulterior-motif-mat-marucci

All Music Guide

Review by Ken Dryden
Mat Marucci is a veteran percussionist deserving of wider recognition. Utilizing a strong quartet with either Doug Webb or John Tchicai, who both double on soprano and tenor saxes, Marucci keeps things interesting with his crisp brushwork and a wide variety of material. Highlights include his original pulsating, post-bop title track and a haunting version of Billy Strayhorn's "Blood Count," featuring Tchicai's suitably maudlin tenor sax. The only disappointment is the inclusion of Sheryl Crow's huge pop hit "All I Wanna Do"; despite Marucci's best efforts, this lame song doesn't have enough of a melody to serve as a convincing jazz vehicle.

Cadence Magazine

Cyber Drum

Drums Etc.

LA Jazz Scene

Percussive Notes Magazine

Sacramento News & Review

All Music Guide

Review by Ken Dryden
While many piano trios tend to sound similar, this one led by veteran drummer Mat Marucci takes pains to avoid the familiar routes. His restrained approach to percussion give plenty of room for pianist Biff Hannon and bassist Frank De La Rosa to weave their magic through strong arrangements of classics like "All Of You," "Body And Soul" and "Misty." But they're also equal to the task of challenging pieces like Bill Evans' "34 Skidoo" and the thunderous postbop "Inner Urge." All three musicians deserve wider exposure and this import is definitely worth acquiring.

Cadence