Auteur

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 music is rooted in Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, and Wayne Shorter. And in my opinion, Weiss is carrying on their tradition and making all of them very proud.

Drummer E.J. Strickland has been on the New York jazz scene for a long time, he is neither a young lion nor an old master. And while new generations of hot new young drummers have come and gone, E.J. remains a strong presence on the scene and in the music that he plays. He really brings Weiss' sextet to the next level. Floating, pushing, prodding, instigating, and falling into step; E.J. Strickland plays with the exploratory attitude of Joe Chambers, Tony Williams, Pete LaRoca, and Jack DeJohnette. However, he never sounds "like" any of them. His is a singular and very special drumming voice. With bassist Eric Wheeler, and pianist David Bryant, this rhythm section lays down a canvas that allows the soloists (Weiss, saxophonist Myron Walden, and Nicole Glover) to go anywhere and explore anything, and they do. Auteur is mature but accessible music, the whole band sounds great, and Weiss has created the perfect context and compositions, but E.J. Strickland is the engine that moves everything along. Listen to his compositional drumming on "The
Other Side of the Mountain," and his amazing "connect the dots," soloing on "Rebop." You won't be disappointed