Dan Weiss Sixteen - Drummers Suite (2016)

'Sixteen: Drummers Suite' is the follow-up to 'Fourteen', the acclaimed release by Dan Weiss that The New York Times named one of the top ten releases of 2013, calling it '...forceful... full of its own convictions. There is no pressure in the world pushing anyone to make a record like this: choral antiphony, new-jazz rhythmic meshing, tabla patterns transferred to drum set, hand-clap patterns transferred to voice, structured improvisation metal.... Mr. Weiss spins it all into a flowing fabric.'

For Sixteen, Weiss has added two more musicians to give the new work an even greater scope. The 16 piece ensemble consists of drums, acoustic bass, guitar, piano, synthesizer, three saxophones, flute, two trombones, three voices, harp, glockenspiel, organ, tabla and percussion. The pieces found on the recording are based on specific drum parts played by six great jazz drummers -- Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Tony Williams, Kenny Clarke and Ed Blackwell -- which provide the inspiration of all of the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic components of the work. The compositions combine to form one unified suite to reflect the drum lineage in the jazz tradition. It s also an exploration of textural sonorities derived from a unique blend of instruments and continues to push the possibilities of what a large ensemble can do in a jazz context.