Language

...Radding crafts these wide, overlapping ribbons of overtones.
Aaron Steinberg

Seattle drummer and percussion guru Gregg Keplinger teams up with New York Downtown heavyweights Daniel Carter and Reuben Radding for their CD Language. Building on the success of Tribute (Origin 82369), his duet CD with saxophonist Rick Mandyck, this new recording features Gregg and the trio recording a series of inspired improvisations, the culmination of a tour during Fall 2001.

Production Info:

Recorded by Sam Hofstedt at Studio X, Seattle, WA
Mastered by Rick Fischer, RFI/CD Mastering, March, 2002
Photography of musicians by Jack Gold
Cover photography by John Bishop
Layout & design by John Bishop/OriginArts

Reviews of Language

All About Jazz (Dave Nathan)
Seattle's Origin label has pretty much kept its releases within the realm of modern mainstream jazz, now dips its toe into the free jazz/avant garde pool with Language. Featuring Daniel Carter on alto, Rueben Radding on bass and Gregg Keplinger on a set of very busy drums, the trio works through more than 50 minutes of music not designed for the ti ...

JazzTimes, May 2003 (Aaron Steinberg)
With time enough for a second West Coast recording, Radding and Carter invited Seattle mainstay drummer Gregg Keplinger into their orbit on Language (Origin). The recording opens with the raging "Speak Glow," a tune temperaamentally distant from the quiet meditations of Luminescence and an early warning that Carter and company are about to claim a ...

Jazz Review (Mark E. Gallo)
This free jazz exploration is packed with dynamic twists and turns that challenge the most adventurous ears. Alto player Carter, bassist Radding and the explosive drummer Keplinger offer a five song program that invigorates. The fluid and explosive opener "Speak Glow" sees Keplinger pistoning the drum set while Carter and Radding move everything ...

All Music Guide (Scott Yanow)
Alto saxophonist Daniel Carter is an avant-gardist who can also play thoughtfully and with logical development. On Language, he performs five group originals with bassist Reuben Radding and drummer Gregg Keplinger that are mostly free improvisations. The music starts at its most intense with "Speak Glow," evolves from being introspective to fiery o ...

Jazz Now (Michael Bettine)
The Seattle scene may be known for it's grunge rock sound, but it also a fertile ground for Jazz musicians. This recording is the real deal. Three musicians go into the studio and just blow. "Speak Glow" finds them off and running. Saxophonist Carter is chased around by the rhythm section. He blows fluid lines while drummer Keplinger is a whirling ...

One Final Note (Derek Taylor)
As far as populist-minded musicians go, Daniel Carter ranks among the most resolute. From the subway-centric guerilla music tactics of Test to continuing collaborations with regional stalwarts like Jonathan LaMaster, Carter has lent his horns to a diverse array of creative improvisation causes. Echoing the old television Western hero Paladin, it's ...

Jazz Times (Aaron Steinberg)
Though it was on his mind for some time, it wasn't until he quit New York City (temporarily) and moved out West that bassist Reuben Radding finally got a chance to form a project around just himself and his longtime associate, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter. The self-effacing Carter, known mostly for his work with Test and Other Dimensions in ...

Expose (Jon Davis)
This set starts out with a mangled bowed sound from Reuben Radding's bass, more sound effects than notes, joined after a few moments by Daniel Carter's alto sax and Gregg Keplinger's drums. The three wander aimlessly for a bit, then the fog clears and a quick swinging tempo emerges, with Radding providing a busy bottom end, Keplinger simultaneously ...