Search - Mike Mainieri :: An American Diary

An American Diary

Mr PC | New Zealand | 03/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album by Vibist Mike Mainieri has an interesting blend of contemporary and traditional jazz sounds. The talents of such players as Joe Lovano on sax, Eddie Gomez on bass and Peter Erskine on Drums compliment Mainieri's vibe playing through this musical excursion of numerous American musical styles. I like this album because of Mainieri's choice of music, his modern approach towards Harmony and the freedom he has within a given form and also within free form jazz. "An American diary" is a complete encumbrance of the sonic boundaries known to mankind. The vibes create a mellow easy listening texture without loosing energy and making the listener fall asleep."

Talk about great crossovers!

John Verity | South Orange, NJ | 01/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is one of the most-often played, and most enjoyed, CDs that I own. I had never heard of Mike Mainieri, or Steps Ahead, before having the occasion to see him play this album in 1995 or '96 at NYC's Bottom Line, with the other three original musicians featured here. I was quite moved by the music, which brilliantly coaxes the magic of improvisational jazz from the structures and melodies of (mostly) classical music, and I was, no kidding, amazed by these musicians, who all play outstandingly well. This was a real ensemble, with no grandstanding. It was the real thing, and so is this record. I can only say that anyone interested in jazz - or classical music, for that matter - should make an effort to seek out and listen to this recording. It will stick with you and call you back again and again, I am sure. And, as it did to me, it may make you run out and listen to as much of Mike Mainieri's music as you can find - and perhaps listen to the original versions of these pieces, too.

Just for the record, the composers whose music gets played here include Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives, Roger Sessions, William Grant Still, John Cage and Frank Zappa.

Two last thoughts: In the CD's liner notes, Mainieri explains how his wholly-American, multi-ethnic musical education began in his childhood apartment in the Bronx, with music from all over the world mingling in the stairwells and on the airwaves. This is as American as it gets, no? And if there's any more enthusiasm required, note that critic Gary Giddins, writing in The Village Voice, named this as one of the year's top 10 jazz albums.

Now that I think about it, the breadth of music that this album covers and the superb playing it presents make me quite proud to be an American - and that's not something I have been thinking, much less saying much lately, I can tell you."