Dan Pugach Nonet

Drummer Dan Pugach brings a lot of curb appeal to his compositions with a nonet including Ingrid Jensen- David Smith/tp-fh, Mike Fahle/tb, Jen Hinkle/btb, Andrew Gould/as-fl, Jeremy Powell/ts-cl, Andrew Gutauskas/bcl-bs, Tanmir Shmerling/g, Carmen Staaf-Jorn Sart/p and guest vocalist Nicole Zuraitis with Bernardo Aguiar/perc. The leader uses taste and variety with his sticks, creating a rich NO boogie beat that grooves well for Powell’s strong tenor on”Brooklyn Blues” while using his ride cymbal like a paint brush for the Gil Evans-elegaic “Coming Here,” Jolene and relaxed “Zelda.” Zuraitis shows flexibility with her voice, ranging from near operatic on “Crystal Silence” to getting sassy as the horns swagger on “Our Blues” and shows lyricism as the rhythm creates a snug groove on “Love Dance.” The horns are able to form a hip staccato groove on the snappy Cuban Belo’s Bellow” and ride along Pugach’s canter as Gutauskas’ baritone sax leads the way on “Discourse This.” Flexible forms.

www.danpugach.com

Leave a Reply