by alex terrier
Guitarist Greg Diamond was born in NYC in 1977 and started studying the piano with his father. After learning the violin, Diamond picked up the guitar at the age of thirteen while living in Bogota, Columbia. That pretty much shows the breadth of Greg’s musical and cultural world! Of course he speaks English and Spanish, but for some reason he also speaks perfect French.
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His album Dançando Com Ale (Chasm Records) is a good representation of his cultural diversity and shows him as a complete and mature artist. His guitar skills match his ability as a composer, and his genuine originality can be heard in both fields. For this album, Diamond teamed up with Seamus Blake on tenor saxophone, Brian Hogans on alto and soprano saxophones, Emilio Solla on piano, Ferenc Nemeth on drums, Edward Perez on bass, Arturo Stable on percussion, and as a special guest on one track you will hear Greg’s sister, singer Vanessa Diamond. Throughout the album, Diamond leads us on a musical journey between South and North America with intelligence, humility, and sincerity. This is not a guitar showcase; I see it as a painter who incorporates himself with great subtlety rather than drawing a self-portrait.
Be it on Diamond’s compositions, or his arrangements of jazz standards or Argentinean songs, you can play this album, drink a mojito, and dance from the first second to the last. On the first track Paradigma, you would probably not notice the 11/4 meter of the intro, and dance through this extended blues form ignoring that you are then in a 5/4 meter. Doesn’t matter really, but I got to show off my expertise… Seamus Blake takes the first solo and warms you up for Brian Hogans’ solo. I had never heard of Hogans before, and can’t find a website or a myspace, which is a pity because this guy has much to say. His playing is very personal and inventive, both on soprano and alto (and I’ve heard he is equally good on piano).
Following track Naufrage (“shipwreck” in French) is another blues form on a calmer tone than the first track. On this minor blues, based on a 6/8 afro-cuban rhythm, Diamond’s melancholic tone and rhythmical playfulness makes his soloing as interesting as his comping behind Seamus Blake’s solo.
Out of the 10 tracks, Diamond signed five compositions and five arrangements. Rebuliço (“fuss” in portuguese) is a composition by H. Pascoal that probably demanded a lot of effort in order for Diamond and Blake to play this melody perfectly together. The band gives a beautiful rendition of Astor Piazzola’s famous Libertango, one of those melodies that’s so simple and at the same time so emotional and meaningful that it brings tears to your eyes. Smile comes right back with Sofrito (M. Santamaria), with a fearless solo by Hogans, followed by the lyrical solo by Diamond.
Dimaond calms things down again with the song Delicate Contents. Ballads are often the place where a composer can sink into an ocean of meaninglessness and long minutes of boredom for the listener. That is not the case here as Diamond delivers a piece with a strong and singing melody, supported by moving harmonies. Another evidence of Diamond’s composing skills is the song Primavera (“spring” in Spanish) which was inspired by the arrival of spring and the sentiment of a new beginning.
The title track Dançando Com Ale (“dancing with Ale”) is a dedication to Diamond’s niece Alessandra, and is based on a samba pattern Diamond conceived. The next track Ninghe, Ninghe – Cancion de Cuna Para Dormir a un Negrito (“cradle song for a small black child) by X. Montsalvatge features classical singer Vanessa Diamond who delivers an impeccable performance and gives a very different color from the rest of the album. Greg Diamond closes the album with an arrangement of the standard All Or Nothing (Lawrence/Altman) that gives us the opportunity to hear bassist Edward Perez soloing at last with brio.
I had the pleasure of playing with Greg Diamond on Friday October 30, 2009, at Rose Bar in Williamsburg. The pleasure was due to Greg’s music and playing with bassist Jim Robertson and drummer Kenny Grohowski. Rose is a great club for the audience, a pretty bad one for the performers. They have an eclectic schedule and usually present good shows. I believe that there is no cover for most of their shows and that’s a great thing to get people to step in and listen to great music. That they have musicians playing for tips is not the most outrageous thing since musicians have to agree to that in order to host a show there. I could address this issue and will probably do so in the near future. For now and to keep the long story short, what is really bothering me when I have to play in such venues is not being welcomed by a simple “hello,” having to do a 3-hour show and being rewarded by one and only one drink, and having to pay for food. I can think of very few other occasions which make me feel like such an underdog. So, if you go to a show at Rose (and this happens in numerous other clubs as well), buy a drink for one of the performers, because the club won’t!
