|
To say the very least, his star is shining. And
no wonder,he is a triple threat. Not only is Dafnis
Prieto engaged in ground breaking performance, transporting
the hand drum traditions of his native Cuba to the
American drumset; he's also a composer of note and
a bandleader. That band has been stirring it up at
locations as diverse as the IAJE and the Montreal
Drum Festival. Dafnis is extremely nimble on the
drumkit, and prone to radical juxtapositions of timbres.
Best of all, he writes songs that are delightful
and challenging for the listener.
It's all there in the title track, the clean stops,
snappy drumming, and tight punches. The trumpets
carry the melody on this one. During a montuno at
roughly 1:30, Dafnis solos over top, his snare cracking
like a whip. His comping behind the piano solo is
light and prodding. The trumpet chorus returns with
the head at 4:29 and the tune takes its exit, never
letting up the intensity.
We asked Dafnis about the image of monks, slow and
methodical. He responded that the monks are a metaphor. "I
dedicate this, my first album, to all the people
who have inspired my spiritual path," said Dafnis. "To
me, they are all monks, dedicated and disciplined
people with a lot of will power."
"Tumba Francesca" begins with long, legato
tones, the trumpets soaring to swells atop dark-toned
cymbals and mallets on toms. The Coltrane-ish spell
breaks at 1:28 with an inventive vamp (five beats
to the bar?), which alternates with a Spanish-tinged
resolving phrase. Keep watch at 3:15, where the sax
sneaks in for a solo, followed by piano; although
the while, Dafnis is stirring it up, calling out
hints of other rhythms, especially bop jazz. At
approximately 5:28, he kicks into his solo with timbale-like
staggered triplets. This guy has electricity in his
veins!
Next is the haunting "Ironico Arlequin",
a concise arrangement. Despite a tremendously complex
rhythm part and arrangement, this is one of the songs
you will hum long afterwards: the piano melody is
catchy and memorable. Another Prieto solo follows,
which finds him dancing around the kit. The transition,
from 3:15 on to the head, is well-constructed and
brings a welcome harmonic resolution to the "controlled
chaos" that precedes.
Perhaps the sunny "Danzon Santa Clara" harkens
back to boyhood memories of Dafnis' hometown. The
pushes between sections are typically challenging.
At 1:36 we're treated to a melodic bass solo that
hugs the chord changes. At 6:05 the piano instigates
a montuno that gets the action hopping. Again, there
is no rest for the listener; this is lively stuff.
"On and On" is, indeed, a longer tune
than any other on the album, but it does not overstay
its visit. Beginning with a military snare, it segues
to a bizarre vamp that succeeds in ruffling our preconceptions.
Solo keys follow at 0:58 and the chords are in, well,
strange voicings-think Frank Zappa! At 3:18, the
ensemble figures dissolve to a clave, sax, and bass
vamp, joined soon by piano. Things get busy but there
are welcome respites, such as the brilliant bandoneon/tango-like
passage, actually played on melodica, at 7:23, which
takes us out.
Electric piano and shakere introduce "Trio
Absolute", reminding of early Weather Report
or, perhaps, Irakere. Here we can hear clearly the
many ways in which Dafnis hints at the clave, and
stays within the two-bar uniting phrase, all the
while tossing off death defying drumming feats.
And now for a "Mechanical Moment" with,
again, a military snare lead-in. The violin is up
front in this tune and there's definitely some atonality
going on. Behind it all, Dafnis is mixing it up,
suggesting both a percussion section tackling, say,
Stravinky, and a drumkit player hardlining the groove.
Then at 2:30 he's dancing on the ride, rimclicking
the snare, and shadowing the piano. There's little "mechanical" going
on here.
"Interrupted Question" features a groove
we used to call songo, that is until drummers like
Dafnis Prieto took that hybrid rhythm and convoluted
it beyond recognition. This track is more evidence
of a feverish mind, sharp as a tack.
It is perhaps fitting that Dafnis Prieto returns
to indigenous hand drums in "Conga En Ti",
a sort of rumba/percussion festival. It moves at
fast tempo and revolves around a vocal theme, the
voice speaking in phonetics. The organ that appears
at 2:35 is yet another example of that maniacal mind.
It raises up in fits and starts as the vocals fade
in the mix, providing a curious, almost cinematic
ending.
About the Monks is quite a ride and it's over all
too soon. It counts the ways in which LP artist Dafnis
Prieto is a vibrant new force in Latin music and
beyond.
Band: Dafnis Prieto, drums, percussion; Yosvany
Terry, sax, shekere; Brian Lynch, trumpet; Luis Perdomo,
piano; Hans Glawishnig, bass; Ilmar Gavilan, violin.
|
