David Chesky
THE BODY ACOUSTIC
Latin Jazz Group where 12 tone classical harmony collides with Latin jazz grooves
GROUP BIOGRAPHY
David's Jazz compositions can be heard in his band, the Body Acoustic.
The group's fresh, personal approach to modern chamber music, captivates the listener captivates the listener, reflecting a predilection towards 20 the century harmonic materials and a love for jazz improvisation and the ritualistic rhythms of the Caribbean, South America and Africa.
The Body Acoustic is an organic polyrhythmic entity: A chorus of disparate voices chanting in a contrapuntal round robin: A form of rhythmic call and response that celebrates the body acoustic as dance - A multi-tiered amalgamation of grooves.
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REVIEWS
"The Body Acoustic is like going to a master class on the art of Afro-Cuban swing...your hips want to sway when you hear this music."
Jazz Times
"Bob, Randy, & the group groove on with stinging accents, and crisp fills, framing their solid polytechnic solos. There's a little bit for al lidioms in this project: Fusion, latin, bebop, Avant-Garde, et al...A kind of welcome departure from the sometime overwhelming, rote and relentless 'beat' of the 'usual.' Ride on guys!"
jazzreview.com
"Dizzy no speak Spanish and I no speak English," he replied. "But we both speak African." For more than six decades, North Americans and Latinos have been speaking African with a New World accent through the descarga-the Afro-Cuban jam session. For American musicians, as evidenced most recently by Chesky's The Body Acoustic project, it's the essence of Latin jazz.
The Village Voice
"The Body Acoustic is an all-star date led by pianist-proprietor David Chesky. Though the quintet is marketed as "a cerebral jam band," it owes more to such recordings as Eric Dolphy's Latin Jazz Quintet, Herbie Hancock's Inventions and Dimensions, and Don Grolnick's Medianoche than to Phish. The pianist, who wrote all eight compositions, stays out of the way except for a few spare solos. With no trap drummer present, Giovanni Hidalgo's light-speed conga configurations provide the processional pulsations, which are augmented by Andy Gonzalez's deep-toned, in-the-pocket basslines. Layered over the groove are Randy Brecker's Miles-style, Harmon-muted trumpet tones and Bob Mintzer's oblique, dark-mattered bass clarinet. Imbued with Cuban clave, "New York Descargas," "Club Descarga," and the bluesy "N.Y. Cool" are articulate, uptempo pieces zip-coded with a Nuyorican address. This contemporary descarga proves that Havana and Harlem are still only a jam session apart, and that jazz musicians of every provenance can participate in the form's Pan-American groove.
The Village Voice
"...you could easily mistake the album for an SACD or stereo DVD-Audio if you were not careful...the album is ear candy...these guys take off in a musical Gulfstream and figure out which airport they are going to land in by the end of the record."
audiorevolution.com
MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES
David Chesky
Born in Miami in 1956, David Chesky came to New York in 1974 to develop his musical career as a composer, arranger and pianist. In 1978 he formed his own Jazz big band consisting of such players as Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker and Bob James. Since then David has immersed himself in composing Modern Classical music. Some of his orchestral works include his "Violin Concerto", "Flute Concerto", "Piano Concerto", "Concerto for Orchestra", "Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra". David Chesky continues to develop new harmonic concepts from the Classical world and adapts them for jazz playing as is evident on The Body Acoustic.
Bob Mintzer
On The Body Acoustic, Bob Mintzer's first Chesky date, The Grammy Award winner performs on bass clarinet adding his versatile sound to the quintets groove. Bob has recorded on over 300 albums with such artists as Buddy Rich, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, Louie Bellson, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Franks, the Yellowjackets, Take Six, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, George Gruntz, Steve Winwood, Diana Ross, Queen, the American Saxophone Quartet, New York Philharmonic, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, and Mongo Santamaria. Actively participating in a variety of musical genres including Jazz, Pop, Orchestral, Latin, and World, Bob was the perfect fit for this ultimate cerebral jam band. Recently Bob was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category with the Yellowjackets for their album Time Squared.
Giovanni Hidalgo
Born in 1963 in San Juan, Puerto Rico Giovanni's love for music brought him to Havana, Cuba to study with the father of modern Afro-Cuban percussion, Changuito. Giovanni's unequaled talents soon caught the ears of jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. For four years, Giovanni traveled the globe with Gillespie's United Nations All-Star Orchestra. Gillespie acted as a mentor to the young conguero, and the world began to witness Giovanni’s rhythmic genius. Since then, Giovanni Hidalgo has performed and recorded with the likes of Tito Puente, Art Blakey, Michel Camilo, Ruben Blades, Peter Gabriel, Carlos Santana, Mickey Hart's Planet Drum ensemble, Bruce Hornsby, Sammy Hagar, Joan Osborne, and Paul Simon. He has also recorded four albums as a bandleader, including the 1997 GRAMMY - Award nominated Hands of Rhythm. The Body Acoustic is Giovanni's third recording date for the Chesky label. He also appears with the Conga Kings on Jazz Descargas and The Conga Kings.
Andy Gonzalez
Born in the Bronx, New York, Andy Gonzalez is regarded as one of the most well known bass players in Latin Jazz. In 1971 Andy joined his brother Jerry and Eddie Palmieri in the classic lineup of El Son. Since then he has collaborated on numerous projects and worked with such names as Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Ray Barretto, George Benson, and David Byrne to name a few. Andy has appeared in several Jazz at Lincoln Center events, including the 1995 concert conducted by Chico O'Farrill called "Afro-Cuban Jazz: Chico O'Farrill and his Orchestra, and also appeared at "Bass Day 98" along with Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, Francis Rocco Prestia, Oteil Burbridge and John Patitucci. Andy also appears on the upcoming Chesky release Inolvidable featuring Cuban legends Candido and Graciela.
Randy Brecker
Philadelphia born Grammy award winner Randy Brecker is one of the most widely recognized names in the industry having played Jazz, R&B and Rock with a wide array of artists including James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Chaka Khan, George Benson, Parliament-Funkadelics, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, David Sanborn, Horace Silver, Jaco Pastorius and Frank Zappa to name a few. Throughout his impressive career Randy's talents have taken him to some interesting places including tours of the Middle East, Asia, and Europe with some of the biggest names in the business in addition to a sold out week of performances at the Albert Hall in London with Eric Clapton in 1989. Randy continues to influence musical minds both young and old while performing at an array of venues and recently won at the 46th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for his album 34th N Lex on the ESC label.