Diatom Ribbons

A breakthrough album by pianist Kris Davis. Diatom Ribbons is her 14th recording as a leader and marks a new chapter in her career as she keeps writing and playing with imagination, courageously looking forward. Here, she is in charge of nine exceptional musicians, including old and new collaborators, who are combined to provide specific sonic outfits for each of the ten tunes on the record. If the presences of saxophonist Tony Malaby, vibraphonist Ches Smith, and bassist Trevor Dunn are not surprises, then the inclusion of great tenorist JD Allen, drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, explosive guitarists Marc Ribot and Nels Cline, vocalist Esperanza Spalding, and Haitian electronics artist Val Jeanty are all new additions to Davis’ projects.

Bassist Eric Revis typically has so many ideas in play that it's virtually impossible for him to limit himself to one ensemble at a time. This is one of the reasons why he's used a variety of groups over the years to deliver his music. His trio with pianist Kris Davis and drummer Andrew Cyrille released City of Asylum (Clean Feed) in 2013, and then another iteration of the trio, Crowded Solitudes (Clean Feed) in 2016, with Gerald Cleaver taking over the drum chair. His quartet project makes excellent use of tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry and altoist Darius Jones, and adds drummer Chad Taylor to the mix: see 2014's In Memory of Things Yet Seen (Clean Feed). Another version of the quartet swapped Jones and McHenry for Davis and saxophonist Ken Vandermark, on 2017's Sing Me Some Cry (Clean Feed). And then there are his many collaborations with other artists, not the least of which was his appearance on Branford Marsalis' excellent 2019 album, The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul (Marsalis Music).