Now there's this excellent trio, led by tuba-player Ben Stapp, with Tony Malaby on sax and Satoshi Takeishi on drums. The music is melodic (and how!), fun, rhythmic (and how!), with themes often in non-western scales, mixing tight composition with improvisation. After several listens to this album, it is hard to believe that this is a debut album. Not only does Stapp wonderfully switches his instrument's role from providing the bass line to a solo instrument, the music is great too, as well as the room he leaves to the other two musicians to do their thing. Malaby is his brilliant self, blending in perfectly in Stapp's musical universe of now unison, then contrapuntal melodic exchanges and adding the controlled emotional component for which I like him so much. Takeishi too fits in perfectly, playing complex rhythm parts, yet adding subtle sounds and gimmicky details which make this trio so much fun to hear. Despite the trio's limited format, the band manages to bring variations in style, from funky and joyful tunes ("Painted Sharks") to slower and darker pieces ("Negative Space"), and then pieces which combine both ("Forgotten Stream") with often unexpected twists and turns. The real highlight is "Macchu Picchu", with tribal rhythms, wonderful harmonic changes and a stellar Malaby playing the lead melody. But Stapp himself is the real star of this great trio.
Listen and buy from CDBaby .
© stef ----------------------------------------- Ecstasis
Ben Stapp Trio | UQBAR (2008)
By Troy Collins
It's a prime example of the new globalism. California-born tubist Ben Stapp graduated from UCLA, studied with English tuba master Roger Bobo overseas, then spent additional time studying in Portugal before returning home to record his debut album, Ecstasis. Demonstrating nimble dexterity and a keen melodic sense, the youthful Stapp holds his own in the heavyweight company of saxophonist Tony Malaby and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi.
Tuba driven small combos were a favored line-up of saxophonists Arthur Blythe and Sam Rivers during the
seventies loft era; the tuba helped reestablish a historical connection between free jazz and the rich polyphony
of early jazz styles such as Dixieland and ragtime. Stapp mostly avoids such pre-swing forms however, tending
towards a slightly modal pan Asian aesthetic. Malaby's serpentine soprano and muscular tenor musings,
Takeishi's scintillating Taiko influenced percussion and the leader's euphonious bass lines congeal into an
exotic mosaic of plangent themes and soaring motifs. Modal structures notwithstanding, Stapp also works
conventional chord changes, thorny counterpoint, and elastic rhythms into his tunefully accessible, yet
harmonically intricate writing.
The trio vacillates between the written and improvised with poised authority and an empathetic rapport
that blurs the line between freedom and form. Stapp's melodious variations complement Takeishi's ceremonial
fanfares and kaleidoscopic accents, providing the trio with a harmonically solid, yet rhythmically fluid
foundation that veers from buoyant to introspective. Malaby reigns in his extroverted tendencies, splitting his
time evenly between soprano and tenor, while embellishing Stapp's memorable themes with lyrical restraint.
Despite the limited instrumental palette, Stapp utilizes an array of inventive arrangements to provide the
trio with ample space for individual expression. Unaccompanied cadenzas, intimate duets and collective
improvisation are all featured alongside more conventional devices, like hypnotic bass ostinatos and concise
call and response, keeping the structures malleable and joyously unpredictable.
A credit to both the trio's conversational interplay and Stapp's resilient writing, the session flows with the
graceful logic of a suite rather than a collection of disparate tunes. Ecstasis marks the solid debut
of a fresh, new voice.
ALL ABOUT JAZZ REVIEW
Ecstasis
Ben Stapp Trio | UQBAR (2008)
By Glenn Astarita
Young California native and tubist Ben Stapp is off to a promising start within global jazz circles. Shortly after touring with the Sacramento Youth Symphony in Europe, he advanced his studies at UCLA and then off to England for lessons with tuba master Roger Bobo. Hence, Stapp is intent upon broadening his musical scope and jazz-based relationships via his residency in Portugal amid numerous European performances and recordings with many jazz notables. On his first date as a leader, Stapp struts his technically gifted stuff with two progressive-jazz heavyweights: saxophonist Tony Malaby and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi.
Contrasts and contrapuntal movements abound. Stapp conveys startling maturity via his fusion of Far Eastern modal concepts and other stylizations with progressive jazz frameworks. He drives the variable flows while pumping up the undertow with percussion master Takeishi. And with Malaby's commanding presence, the trio whirls through complex unison lines where it seamlessly morphs a cavalcade of sharp-witted notions into a singular group sound.
Stapp possesses a fertile imagination, partly due to his brisk soloing jaunts abetted by extended note choruses and fluid flurries. In effect, the trio can act aggressive while throttling back matters into inward-looking dialogues. They bob, weave and bounce through a program that spurs notions of a get-up-and-go type demeanor. On "Once In Evora," Takeishi slaps, dabs and nestles around Stapp's beefy lines, all enhanced by Malaby's circular phrasings. The band sets its sights high, yet alters the current during "Power Drop," a composition that intimates an ominous sequence of events. Overall, Stapp's debut is a commendable display of jazz artistry. He's most assuredly one to watch.
click here to download the album
Click here for All About Jazz link
Track listing: Painted Sharks; Machu Picchu; Don't Bop Your Head; Dying Bumble Bees; Once in Evora; Negative Space; Power Drop; Sick Attachment; Forgotten Scream.
Personnel: Benjamin Stapp: tuba; Tony Malaby: tenor and soprano saxophones; Satoshi Takeishi: percussion.
Published: November 08, 2008
Downtown Music Gallery Review by Bruce Gallanter
Artist: BEN STAPP TRIO With TONY MALABY/SATOSHI TAKEISHI
Title: Ecstasis
Label: Uqbar 01 Country: USA
Format: CD Status: AVAILABLE $15.00
Description: Features Tony Malaby on Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Satoshi Takeishi on Percussion, and Benjamin Stapp on tuba; all original music by the tubist. These composition seek to combine elements of written music, specified harmonic improvisations(changes) and open forms in a seemless and organic way. The musicians' harmonic and rhythmic language correspond intimately with the compositions creating a unified form. Satoshi's taiko like percussion kit creates a deep and rich atmosphere. With the addition of tuba for the bass role, a surreal rhythmic soundscape is created. Tony's harmonically complex and lyrically concise sensibilities carry this group into yet another realm. The end result: ECSTASIS.
"Features Tony Malaby on tenor and soprano saxes, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion, and Benjamin Stapp on tuba; all original music by the tubist. Over the past few years there has been a number of great tuba players emerging from the local scene like Jesse Dulman, Jose Davilla, Marcus Rojas, as well as out-of-towners like Michel Godard, Tom Heasley and Oren Marshall. Ben Stapp is the new man in town and has been stopping in and letting us check out his assorted projects on CD-R. This is his first legit CD as a leader and it is a stunning debut. Ben has chosen two great musicians from much different situations: the ubiquitous Tony Malaby on saxes and diverse percussion hero, Satoski Takeishi, who has worked with Myra Melford, Shoko Nagai, Anthony Braxton and Dave Liebman. "Painted Shark" opens this disc with a memorable theme. Mr. balances between taking the role of a bassist and playing most impressive solos. While Malaby takes a coy, laid-back soprano solo, Ben buzzes around him spinning impressive tube counterpoint. "Machu Picchu" is a somber, haunting work for snake charming soprano sax and growling tuba. Satoshi's laid-back simmering hand-percussion is also consistently marvelous as he weaves a web around his two cozy comrades. In many ways this is a most perfect and finely balanced trio with no superfluous rules or roles. What I find most interesting is that Tony Malaby sounds completely different here than in any other situation since he must play with thoughtful restraint and quiet elegance throughout. Ben also does a fine job of playing melodic, crafty basslines as well as soloing with an impressive flair. Ben utilizes just the right amount of echo to give his tubs that fat, warm and lyrical quality. Nice to hear a disc that is rich in detail, warm in sound without ever having to scream for attention." - BLG
Review from jazzearredores.blogspot.com
by Eduardo Chagas
.. O californiano Ben Stapp deambulou um pouco pela Europa até que aportou a Lisboa, onde permaneceu durante alguns anos. Aqui estudou, ensinou e tocou com músicos locais. Actualmente a residir em Nova Iorque, Stapp acaba de editar o seu primeiro disco como lÃder. Ecstasis, publicado na Uqbar Music , expõe composições originais do tubista, que, como o próprio conta nas notas, “passaram por inúmeras fases durante a estadia em Portugalâ€. São nove as composições de Ecstasis, estruturas abertas, de extrema flexibilidade, por onde passam correntes de ar capazes de veicular tanto a expressividade robusta de Tony Malaby, em saxofones tenor e soprano, como o som encorpado e elegante das linhas melódicas, rÃtmicas e harmónicas da tuba, que aqui desempenha com eficácia o papel de densificador do fluxo criativo; e a percussão sinuosa do japonês Satoshi Takeishi, que aprofunda os procedimentos e alarga o campo de audição. É difÃcil escolher uma ou duas faixas de Ecstasis, sinal de que o disco vale sobretudo pelo conjunto multifacetado, revelador da escrita sólida de Stapp compositor e da capacidade de improvisação colectiva de um trio nascido ao cabo de um par de ensaios. E assim se fica de ouvidos presos à música de Ben Stapp, uma voz que reconheço como uma das mais promissoras da moderna música improvisada que tem no jazz a sua referência primordial, e à qual o músico associa um distintivo e refrescante tempero afro-mediterrânico. Ecstasis. Pessoalmente, agrada-me bastante o resultado.Dá-lhe, Benjamin!
Ben Stapp