Auteur

Harmonies shift in unsettled patterns; the pieces, beautiful as they are, work through their troubles in long, ruminative phrases; and the soloists likewise pitch their virtuosity in search of an elusive place they can call home...The tunes are lovely.
DownBeat

As a composer and bandleader, trumpeter David Weiss is dedicated to the proposition that there are still new stories to be told from within the bebop tradition. The several collaborative bands he's spearheaded over the last three decades—including the superband, The Cookers—are towering examples, but none more personal to his voice than this ongoing Sextet. With longtime collaborators saxophonist Myron Walden and drummer EJ Strickland, and newer musical partners such as tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover and pianist David Bryant, Weiss creates expansive harmonic and rhythmic frameworks for the group to explore and summit. Intriguing melodies and virtuosic solos highlight this set of five originals, along with compositions from Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton.

"...innovating while drawing from tradition...creating a powerful, propulsive force."
JazzTimes

Production Info:

Recorded January 23 & 24, 2023
at Big Orange Sheep, Brooklyn, NY
Recording Engineer: Chris Benham
Assistant: Cat Evers
Additional recording and editing: David Turk
Mixed by Katherine Miller
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian
at Kevorkian Mastering, Brooklyn, NY
Cover photo by Vincent Soyez
Band photo by Chris Benham
Cover Design and Layout by John Bishop

Reviews of Auteur

Paris Move (Thierry De Clemensat)
It's hard to find an album more classic than this one, which throws you right into the heart of bebop without any restraint. It's bold, and that's precisely what gives it its charm, thanks to the excellence of the musicians in this sextet, who immediately draw you into their turbulent universe! David Weiss presents *Auteur*, showcasing original com ...

Jazz Weekly (George W Harris)
Trumpeter David Weiss has carved out a career playing with the likes of Freddie Hubbard, James Spaulding as well as currently teamed with the hard bop vets The Cookers. This album has that classic late period Blue Note feel, with Weiss leading a muscular group of Myron Walden/as, Nicole Glover/ts, David Bryant/p, Eric Wheeler/b and EJ Strickland/dr ...

All About Jazz (Edward Blanco)
4-STARS Trumpeter, composer and bandleader David Weiss delivers the fourth album from his exquisite sextet entitled Auteur, a French term originally used to define film directors as the "author' of the film and in musical respects here, to mean the director or "scene setters" of the music. A master of the bebop sound Weiss, as stated in the excell ...

The New York City Jazz Record (Phil Freeman)
Trumpeter David Weiss usually builds a band to accomplish a particular musical task. Point Of Departure, a brilliant early-2000s quintet interpreted the music of Andrew Hill, late '60s mostly pre-electric Miles Davis, and underappreciated Detroit keyboardist Kenny Cox. His long-running all-star septet, The Cookers, featuring titans such as Eddie He ...

Jazz Trail (Filipe Freitas)
Trumpeter and composer David Weiss assembles a dynamic sextet for his latest album, Auteur, featuring both longtime collaborators—alto saxophonist Myron Walden and drummer EJ Strickland—and fresh voices like pianist David Bryant, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, and bassist Eric Wheeler. The album showcases seven passionate tracks, including fi ...

DownBeat (Carlo Wolff)
4 1/2 STARS The David Weiss Sextet's first album in 10 years is a master class in musical power. It presents five primarily long-form tunes by trumpeter Weiss and one each by Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton. Auteur is immersive modern music spanning "The Mirror," a staple of the group's repertoire; "The Other Side Of The Mountain," a gorgeous ...

BeBop Spoken Here (UK) (Lance Liddle)
There have been a lot of excellent albums dished up for review this year and already the contenders for Album of the Year are amassing. Auteur is one guaranteed to be in the shake-up. It's the kind of music I had in mind when I first started blogging all those years ago - bop, hard bop, post bop and beyond (albeit not too far beyond). In his ...

Era Jazzu (Poland) (DIONIZY PIATKOWSKI)
American trumpeter and composer David Weiss has been leading his sextet for almost 25 years. Slightly changing the line-up of the band, he always tries to maintain his own sound and format, which he dazzles with in subsequent recordings. This time, the trumpeter's sextet (Myron Walden on alto saxophone and EJ Strickland on drums, Nicole Glover on t ...

UK Jazz News (Morgan Enos)
By its very nature, jazz should leave no stone unturned. Therein, an artist can record an album in an afternoon, and whether as a sideperson or leader, some can effectively release multiple albums per year. David Weiss' last sextet record, however, was a full decade ago. Weiss boasts an amazing background – coming up in the 1980s with jazz hea ...

Jazz Wax (Marc Myers)
Wow, talk about a smashing hard bop album. David is a sizzling, solid trumpeter-composer who fronts a solid band joined by Myron Walden (as), Nicole Glover (ts), David Bryant (p), Eric Wheeler (b) and E.J. Strickland (d). If Blue Note were still under the command of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, this is what their output would sound like. Five of ...

Making a Scene (Dee Dee McNeil)
An "Auteur" is a filmmaker who exhibits so much influence and artistic control over a movie that the filmmaker is regarded as the author of the movie. In this case, "Auteur" reflects the David Weiss artistic vision, as a bandleader, a trumpeter and composer. There are three key elements of an ‘Auteur.' One is technical competence, two is disting ...

Jazz Sensibilities (Icrom Bigrad)
David Weiss' Auteur, the latest release with his sextet, hits with the force of a well-honed ensemble ten years in the making. This album, crafted by musicians rooted in the evolution of modern jazz, highlights Weiss' original composition and an ensemble that speaks in a language of the jazz lineage. The seven-track collection, released on Septembe ...

Modern Drummer (Editor)
The liner notes to David Weiss' new record delve into a deep explanation of its title, Auteur, and I suggest reading the fascinating and educational essay. Weiss is a composer, a trumpet player, and bandleader of several groups. But I believe his sextet (heard on this recording) gets the closest to the core of the person and the musician. Auteur's ...

JazzTimes (David R. Adler)
Real Talk: A Conversation with Trumpeter David Weiss On the rigors of bandleading, and the discovery of rare tunes by Freddie Hubbard, Slide Hampton Significant events can happen quietly in our jazz world (another way of saying they're getting ignored). Like the fact that trumpeter David Weiss recorded a previously unknown Freddie Hubbard compo ...