Announcing 40twenty: an updated take on the Mad Men-era house band. In the spirit of jazz club engagements of long ago, this Brooklyn quartet booked two weeks of nightly gigs before recording their debut record.
released November 27, 2012
Jacob Garchik - trombone
Jacob Sacks - piano
David Ambrosio - bass
Vinnie Sperrazza - drums
01. Jan 20 (7:09)
02. Gi (7:51)
03. Plainchant (6:02)
04. Soon Enough (7:21)
05. One Five (9:41)
06. MajorEe MinorEe (7:37)
01 composed by Jacob Sacks (Jacob Sacks Compositions, BMI)
02 composed by Jacob Garchik (Hogoe Publishing, ASCAP)
03 & 04 composed by Vinnie Sperrazza (Spanomusic, ASCAP)
05 & 06 composed by David Ambrosio (DA Music, BMI)
Recorded January 24, 2011 at Systems Two, Brooklyn NY
jacobgarchik.com
jacobsacks.com
davidambrosio.com
vinniesperrazza.org
Yeah Yeah Records 0004
yeahyeahrecords.com
40twenty is a throwback to the age when a band could find its own sound through night after night of experimentation and interaction. In January 2011, amidst a world of “one-nighters”, 40twenty sought out a New York City space where they could set up camp and forge their identity. After 10 nights and 20 sets at Brooklyn’s Ibeam, they headed to the studio to capture the energy they created.
“Dry controlled radicalism...a smeary version of chamber jazz” - Ben Ratliff, the New York Times
The album opens with Jacob Sacks’ “Jan 20”, a musical tongue twister with an interrupting motif. Reminiscent of a Monk tune, this quirky piece cannot be soloed on without quoting the melody. Sacks, who has lent his gleeful energy to the bands of David Binney and the late Paul Motian, leads off a series of unpredictable trades with Garchik, con- tinuing a collaboration that dates to their studies at Manhattan School of Music 15 years ago.
Continuing at a brisk pace is Garchik’s “Gi”, which features the trombone player in a lyrical solo for a notoriously tricky instrument. Garchik has established a name for himself as a composer with his atheist gospel solo project “The Heavens” as well as his diverse arrangements for the Kronos Quartet. Here he presents an introspective piece loosely based on “Giant Steps”.
Vinnie Sperrazza honed his propulsive and deeply grooving drum sound through years in one of James Williams’ last bands. On his perfectly titled ballad “Plainchant”, Sperrazza proves he is also a dynamic and thoughtful accompianist.
David Ambrosio brings the group its final piece: the elemental blues “MajorEe MinorEe”. A staple of the NYC jazz scene as well as an accomplished disciple of the Afro Cuban Bata drumming tradition, Ambrosio has a fine rhythmic sense, on full display here. A fitting end to the record, this track finds the musicians in a bouyant, swinging mood, communicating with great ease as old colleagues creating a shared space.
“...those ‘forty-twenty’ sets the club owners wanted everybody to play. They wanted you to begin your set twenty minutes after the hour and play until the end of the hour and then come back twenty minutes later and play another set” - Miles Davis