Marcus Gilmore

'The colour of intention' refers to the creative process itself: that in order to express yourself honestly in music, you have to generate clear intentions developed from thoughts and emotions which then colour the work rather than explaining every aspect of it. In the moment of performance, the goal then becomes to put all these previous investigations out of mind and exist in the present. The colour of intention is describing everything except performance; the slower processes of development, reflection and refinement and how they’ll seep, often unpredictably, into everything that ends up being realised.

For his third ECM release as a leader, Chris Potter presents a new acoustic quartet that naturally blends melodic rhapsody with rhythmic muscle. The group includes superlative musicians well known to followers of ECM’s many recordings from New York over the past decade: keyboardist David Virelles, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Marcus Gilmore, who each shine in addition to the leader on multiple horns. The Dreamer Is the Dream features Potter on tenor saxophone the instrument that has made him one of the most admired players of his generation in the striking opener “Heart in Hand” and such album highlights as “Yasodhara,” as well as on soprano sax (“Memory and Desire”) and bass clarinet (the title track).

Pianist, composer and bandleader Kris Davis, just named one of Downbeat magazine’s “25 for the Future,” has made outstanding music in trio, quartet and quintet formats; her most recent output ranges from solo piano (Massive Threads) to an octet with four bass clarinets (Save Your Breath). The next logical step seemed to be duo. After brainstorming with producer David Breskin, Davis was ready to make 'Duopoly,' a series of duos with eight colleagues, all highly regarded and accomplished improvisers. Each duo would play two pieces, one composed and the other free, 16 tracks in all. The album is out September 30th, 2016 on Davis' imprint, Pyroclastic Records.

As the career of Gonzalo Rubalcaba has progressed, through the trials and tribulations of attempting to move freely from his native Cuba to the U.S. and back, there has never been any doubt as to his monstrous talent. Easily a Top Five pianist in terms of his fleet-fingered ability to stretch the parameters of jazz and Latin musics, he has chosen in recent years to play solo or in trios. Avatar changes that with a long-awaited small-ensemble date, featuring a fellow heavyweight, the saxophonist and composer Yosvany Terry, and the brilliant young drummer Marcus Gilmore. As if Rubalcaba needs any fuse to be lit – he has that self-contained – Terry and Gilmore really set sparks flying in this power-packed set of progressive original music.