Joe Locke

Force of Four

Origin 82511



No vibraphonist working today swings more soulfully than Joe Locke.
Paul deBarros / Seattle Times

Vibraphonist Joe Locke follows up his chart-topping string of recordings with one of his most dynamic and vital CDs yet. Leading a unique new quartet with pianist Robert Rodriguez, drummer Johnathan Blake, & bassist Ricardo Rodriguez, Locke channels the influences of New York, Cuba, Philadelphia and Puerto Rico, as well as the many places traveled by these four player/composers, to create a meld that is unquestionably their own.


Track Listing:

1 Like Joe 6:16
2 Ruminations 8:26
3 Ricky's Tune 8:03
4 No Moe 7:20
5 Available in Blue 5:29
6 Alpha Punk 6:58
7 Laura 8:29
8 Blue November 4:51

Performers:

JOE LOCKE - vibes
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ - piano
JOHNATHAN BLAKE - drums
RICARDO RODRIGUEZ - bass

with
WAYNE ESCOFFERY - tenor (6,8)
and
THOMAS MARRIOTT - trumpet (4)

Production Info:

Recorded on March 6th, 2008
at Bennett Studios, Englewood, NJ
Recorded, mixed and mastered by
Alessandro Perrotta
Photography by Alexandros Lambrovassilis
Cover design by Nadja von Massow


Reviews of Force of Four

All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)
Certain sounds are so easy to love: the blurry whine of a muted trumpet, the beefy growl of a robust tenor saxophone, the rich, frictional cry of the cello, and the buoyant, sustained ring of a mallet hitting a key on a vibraphone. Vibraphonist Joe Locke's profile seems to have risen on a sharp angle since Live in Seattle (Origin Records, 2006) ...

All About Jazz (John Kelman)
Joe Locke couldn't have picked a better name for Force of Four. While not as overtly plugged in as the potent, near fusion-esque Live in Seattle (Origin, 2006) with his Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group, it's an equally electrifying date that revisits the same format?vibes, piano, bass and drums?but with an all-new line-up. It's taken time for c ...

Audiophile Audition (Jeff Krow)
Joe Locke is one busy vibes man. Between a busy touring schedule, and as probably the premier first call vibes sideman, Joe keeps especially busy recording. Recording as a leader for at least eight different labels in the last 10 years, Locke has explored many jazz genres. On his latest Origin Records release, Force of Four, Joe records with a quar ...

All About Jazz - New York (Ken Dryden)
Joe Locke has emerged as one of the dominant jazz vibraphonists in recent years, releasing several outstanding CDs with various musical partners. Force of Four is no exception, a tight postbop session with a new quartet: pianist Robert Rodriguez, bassist Ricardo Rodriguez and drummer Johnathan Blake. The pianist contributed "Like Joe", a tribu ...

100 Greatest Jazz albums (Ken Watkins)
Following the fusion influenced "Live In Seattle" (with Geoffrey Keezer) in 2006 and "Sticks And Strings" (with Jonathan Kreisberg) in 2007, "Force of Four" continues vibe player Joe Locke's very strong recent run of inventive albums. The new quartet ? Joe Locke (vibraphone), Robert Rodriguez (piano and electric piano), Ricardo Rodriguez (bass) ...

The Davis Enterprise (Ric Bang)
In the beginning, we had Red Norvo, followed by Lionel Hampton, Magie Hyams, Terry Gibbs, Milt Jackson, Cal Tjader and Gary Burton. They've now been joined by Joe Locke. All are jazz vibraphone artists. Although a relative youngster (still in is 40s), Locke has been playing the instrument for more than 30 years; his fame has risen during the ...

CD HotList (Jeff Wanser)
Vibraphonist Joe Locke has been steadily turning out recordings for many years, of consistently high quality, and this latest release is no exception. The vibraphonist and his friends present us with a variety of hard- to post-bop tunes, some gentle and floating, others wild and frenetic, but all gorgeously played. With Robert Rodriguez on piano, a ...



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