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REVIEWS FOR SOUL OF GRACE (released 2000 by Soul Note Records) “Guitarist/composer Paul Nash is the artistic director for the band he organized back in 1990 known as “The Manhattan New Music Project”. Here, Nash directs an aggregate of jazz luminaries such as trumpeter Jack Walrath, French hornist/composer Tom Varner, bass trombonist David Taylor and others for a thoroughly impressive project titled, The Soul Of Grace. Throughout this rather jubilant large ensemble affair, Nash shines as a strong composer/arranger while exhibiting finely honed skills as a guitarist who makes every note ring loud and clear in pronounced fashion. "More to my taste is the Gil Evans cum Charles Mingus feel of influence that Nash readily acknowledges in addition to composers from Frank Zappa and Stravinsky. The Evans touch is evident in Nash's use of a rockish rhythm section and voicings that combine bass trombone, French horn, and saxophones, while the grounding in the blues and his tendencies to switch tempos in a heartbeat seem to come out of Mingus. Nash's arrangements of his originals consistently make the nonet sound like a much larger ensemble, and Nash is adept and finding the right settings for the soloists. His tunes largely avoid the usual head/solos/head format, and he likes to combine bits of rock, jazz and a little funk into his structures, lengthy pieces that take time to unfold. the opening "The Phoenix", for instance ...evolves into a dramatically rising melody with a backbeat, just right for Nash's effects-laden guitar solo and a boisterous turn for tenor saxophonist Avram Fefer. The other key soloist is Mingus alumni trumpeter jack Walrath, who makes the most of his features... The Soul of Grace is an intriguing and solid effort."
“Though it was recorded in 1997, The Soul of Grace stands with Ken Schaphorst's Purple, Anthony Wilson's Adult Themes, Sam Rivers' Inspiration and a couple of others as the very best large ensemble works to be released in the last year or so. Paul Nash, guitarist and founder of the Manhattan New Music Project, has a good thing going here--a creative outlet and top-flight players (notably Walrath and Varner) to see it through. The seven Nash originals--brash, thundering and, to say the least, resourcefully programmed--make for a neat series of dramatic cadences; the result is a story, from the tense, sweaty-palmed "The Phoenix" through a jarringly edgy "Passacaglia." A tender "Cathexis (A Kind of Blues)," where Walrath's solo arises seamlessly from the written score and Bruce Williamson displays a fabulously hard-toned soprano, makes for a tender nadir; a rest-stop before the final push through the booming likes of "Recursivephonic." Nash makes very good use of the ensemble. He handles the instrumentation (frequently with a fascinating emphasis on David Taylor's bass trombone) in a manner not unlike, say, Muhal Richard Abrams; brass-driven, long unison passages, contrapuntal electricity. Almost everything on The Soul of Grace begs to be transcribed by college students looking for something a little more adventurous than Bill Holman. There's nary a weak solo on the record, and "Marigail-Marigold," an older Nash tune included as a feature for his own guitar-playing, delivers well on that promise. Nash's thrum hauls the chart out of its snappy ensemble section and he goes on to lay down a smart, boppish solo that's rewarding listening unto itself. “The Bryant Park lunchtime office crowd had a new experience when composer Paul Nash placed eight of his participating brass/wind instrumentalists randomly throughout the park for his semi-improvised composition Still Sounds Run Deep. This event is one of a continuing series of Nash's outdoor extravaganzas where he brings instrumentalists into everyday public settings. “If New York is really the Capitol of Jazz, why is it that so many talented American improvisers end up recording for European labels? A case in point is guitarist/arranger Paul Nash, who lives in New York but has done some of his best work for the Italian Soul Note label. It was in 1997 that Nash recorded his Soul Note release The Soul of Grace, which finds the guitarist emphasizing original material and leading a nine-person band that includes, among others, trumpeter Jack Walrath, reedman Bruce Williamson, trombonist David Taylor and pianist Neal Kirkwood. Although some of Nash's electric guitar solos are rock-influenced -- it's an acoustic-oriented post-bop date that underscores Nash's appreciation of such band-leading arrangers as Gil Evans, Charles Mingus and Oliver Nelson. Nash's pieces are complex and intellectual, yet melodic. … a noteworthy American artist. Alex Henderson, All-Music Guide 2000“On the second CD by his nine-piece ensemble, the Manhattan New Music Project, guitarist, composer and arranger Paul Nash builds on the foundations of predecessors Gil Evans, Charles Mingus and Weather Report to create a classical jazz ensemble sound that is contemporary while displaying traditional roots. Tom Varner’s brassy sound and fluent bop solos contribute to the Gil Evans vibe on several pieces.” "While large institutions like Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center trip over one another funding jazz repertory bands in an attempt to fill their (overpriced) seats, more contemporary improvisers scramble to find locations in which and ensembles to perform their compositions. That's why the Manhattan New Music Project (MNMP) came into existence in 1990. It's designed to commission, showcase and record new works with different-sized ensembles. And this fine disc centers on the compositions of MNMP's artistic director, guitarist Paul Nash.” "We are surprised and at the same time fascinated by the very high musical quality of the recording "The Soul of Grace" by guitar player Paul Nash and his Manhattan New Music Project. Recorded in December 1997, it hit the stores two weeks ago under the Italian label Soul Note… We certainly predict it will be included in the "best of the year" list. Even though influenced by Gil Evans, Charlie Mingus and Carla Bley…Listen, for example to "The Wheel", where you can also appreciate the sounds of the French horn player Tom Varner, the trumpeter jack Walrath and tenor saxophonist Avram Feffer. … Paul Nash is a guitarist who has assembled a fine collective to display his talents as a composer and arranger It does not hurt to attract the kind of musicians that Nash brought together for these selections, including trumpeter Jack Walrath, french hornist Tom Varner, and pianist Neal Kirkwood. Each is given solo space in which he takes full advantage. The nine-piece orchestra performs the complicated pieces elegantly. …..There is no question that Nash has made an important statement "Take a look here for musicians rightly famous not just for being masters of their instruments but for playing in any genre and being able to blend, yet retain their individual identities. Varner, Taylor, Walrath; all masters. The opening track, "The Phoenix", has a score which is riveting." “The Manhattan New Music Project is a collective of fourteen musicians (including Jack Walrath, a veteran of Charles Mingus' 1970s group), led by guitarist and composer Paul Nash. This is highly elaborate music for medium and large band, in which certain modern influences can be heard—Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Charlie Haden—but also a strong flavor of contemporary music. The uses of string instruments (violin, viola and cello) in some pieces lends a singular atmosphere to the ensemble. This is a ambitious project.” “Here is an album that opens new perspectives to an abundance of creativity full of surprises that can only be listened to attentively and with much open-mindedness; a cooperative venture of composers/interpreters who want to explore a virgin territory...the introduction of strings on most of the tracks clearly plays an important part in this search for new climes on the edge of jazz, Eastern European music, contemporary music with a minimalist beat or incidental music.” “A bracing collage of jazz, classical and genre-bending materials...contains glimmers of Gil Evanish color, streaks of Mingus-like volatility, and flashes of Third Stream smarts.” “So well played, the writing so strong, the music stays fresh” “Combining melodic invention and experimental layering of sound textures.” “Thoughtful, well composed pieces...a gang with a collective aesthetic” “...Exciting and different” “a jazz orchestra sound based on kaleidoscopic change and multi-faceted collage.” |
