Personnel:
Dani Rambla (p), Benet Palet (tp), Jordi Gardeñas (d), Gorka Benítez (ts), Joan Martí (b)
Reference: FSNT-141
Bar code: 8427328421416
The debut release from the Dani Rambla Quintet is a fine one. He has blended the soft, intimate moments of his large jazz repertoire with the abilities and tendencies brought along to the formation by an all-star cast of young Spanish musicians from the current jazz panorama: the Basque saxophonist Gorka Benítez is here, adding the strong, yet gentle flourishes of horn, as is Catalan trumpet player Benet Palet, another Fresh Sound New Talent regular.
Here we find Dani Rambla in a soulful mood, taking in several of his own compositions, as well as the Rodgers & Hart masterpiece "I Didn't Know What Time It Was". Whether your taste is for the jazz of today of for the classicism of the sixites, "Para Querer" is a real delight.
"As Ramblas band explores terrain that I would define as the territory of the 1950s Miles Davis quintet, their music is being expected to compete in a saturated market. Yet this Spanish band is a convincing unit that creates fresh, intelligent, and fluent music out of an idiom that is all too easy to regard as done and dusted.
This band cooks on exciting pieces such as Visiómica and Vanes and adds an authentic twist to the Davis Spanish signature. Palet and Benítez play with a breezy flair that animates Visiómica while Palet also shows his skills as a ballad player during I Petits while bass palyer Marti is showcased in solo moments that demonstrate supple lyricism in toni and inventive swing during the upbeat Vanes. Rambla sounds loose and relaxed throughout and concludes the session with a solo ballad rendition of Where Are You? This is a nice one and, if you are ever in Barcelona, here is one local combo that sounds like they are well worth checking out."
- David Lewis, Cadence Magazine May 2003
