Matt Bauder - tenor saxophone
Chris Dingman - vibraphone
Garth Stevenson - bass
Harris Eisenstadt - drums, compositions
Songlines Recordings 2012
As I come to think of it, it seems to me that a drummer/bandleader is exclusively a jazz phenomenon. The number of bad jokes about the drummers says a lot but I remember being told a story of an audience member being surprised that a drummer can actually bring compositions to a jazz group ("do you mean, he hums you to the melody?") as if a notion of a musical notation would have to have to beyond the capacity of any man who just rhythmically hits things with sticks.
Put the above reflection beside. Harris Eisenstadt is not only a versatile drummer and acknowledged bandleader, he's a masterful composer and arranger, his work distinguished by great attention to colorful sound palette and rhythmic texture - to one's mind come albums like "Guewel" (jazz arrangaments for drums and four horns of classic Mbalax songs - Senegalese pop music), "Woodblock Prints" (inspired by japanese graphic art; instrumentation:drums, bass, tuba, basson, guitar, french horn, trombne, clarinet, alto saxophone). Or, as a matter of fact, both previous releases by the Candada Day quintet.
