My latest album "Butterflies and Zebras" by Ditmas Quartet on Fresh Sound New Talent got 4 stars! on DownBeat's August issue... Yeehaw!! Dreams sometimes come true -no publicist-. Now back to writing new music... Big thanks to Josef Woodard for the wonderful review!!! Peace
You can read the whole review on the following link, page 78
“On her striking new album, pianist composer Eva Novoa, aided and abetted by quartet members (Michaël Attias on alto saxophone, Max Johnson on bass and Jeff Davis on drums), offers up further evidence of the current surge of creative energy coming out of Brooklyn. This is a shining example of 21st-century contemporary jazz, balancing spotlighted glories with a strong ensemble identity.
Opening with a sturdy declaration of sound and intent, the record begins in an empathetic yet slippery way, with the snaky Orenette-esque melody of Davis’ tune “Spicy Water”. On that tune and beyond, Attias’ alto –adroit and artful- serves as a potent voice. Elsewhere he shows solid, curiosity-fueled impulses on the aptly nerve-buzzing “Pre-Nerve Scale” and the angular “La Part Maudite”.
A bold and restless pianist, moving easily between acute precision and painterly fervor, Novoa is also in command of compositional strategies, conveying a discernible creative voice. Half the album consists of her originals: The quasi minimalist piece “The Drone”, built on a hypnotically looping cascade of lines, contrasts with the short, punch-drunk shuffle “Jack Nicholson” and the Carla Bley-ish ballad “Coffee Stain”.
Looping back around to the cohesive group at hand, the album closes with a shout-out from the pianist-leader to the drummer. “For Jeff” is a fairly mesmerizing, slow-growing crescendo of a tune. Clearly, this is a band –and a record- to bend an ear toward”. -Josef Woodard
http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2016/DB1608/single_page_view/78.html
