Rich Pellegrin - Down (2019)

For his third OA2 recording, composer/pianist Rich Pellegrin presents his decade-old quintet performing five enigmatic compositions that range from the raw intensity of 'Trial' to the mystical, inscrutable hues of the title cut, 'Down. ' On an added expanded version of 'Down,' recorded with the Mizzou New Music Ensemble from the University of Missouri, eleven diverse musicians create a radiant texture of interweaving lines, extending the vital, collaborative focus for which his band is already known. 'Pellegrin seems to have multiple influences, displaying at times the density and drive of pianist McCoy Tyner, elsewhere sounding free and unpredictable, like no one but himself. ' - ALL ABOUT JAZZ. 'Strikingly original music. . . Phenomenally sensitive and expressive. . . Pellegrin is clearly an artist to watch. ' - Earshot Jazz