Rick DellaRatta * René Hart * Denis Charles
|
||||||
| "Here is one of the most satisfying recent CDs. The compositions are good; the solo work is fine, and the trio performs with vigor and taste. Over and over throughout the two record set of 1-1/2 hours of music, DellaRatta's extraordinary musicianship makes itself felt. There are several excellent originals included in this collection by DellaRatta such as Living Inside a Daydream, 7th Heaven and Little Song which by-the-way, he also sings, DellaRatta is a pianist with minds of his own, a fine touch, a very musical sound, and a technique to spare (but used with discretion). He also has a style and doesn't make a pastiche or melange of what he's heard others do. His time is good, too, and he has a refreshing way of voicing chords. In any event, the eleven compositions serve as an excellent vehicle for DellaRatta's proving, ever-inventive mind; his improvisations reveal a fertile, witty restless imagination at work-one that is apparently never at a loss for ideas. His ideas rush forth with as great speed as taste and inventiveness. As for Rene Hart and Denis Charles, they are able assistants. My picks from Stella Records releases are: Little Song, Black Orpheus, Moon and Sand, and When It's Sleepy Time Down South." |
| The
Monterey County Post, Carmel, CA March 18, 1999 Reviewd by Johnny Adams |
| "I've not heard anything quite like Rick DellaRatta and group. They are versatile and it was a great idea to record live in two very different locations. I hope this gets out to the large audience it deserves. I think they've found a wonderful way to bridge the gap of generations of listeners." |
|
KTXK -FM Texarcana, Texas |
| "DellaRatta may be the next big thing in jazz!" |
|
Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel |
| "... youthful sounding vocals, energized keyboard skills and prowess as a composer!" |
|
Jazz Times |
| "The perfect blend of vocal and instrumental jazz." |
|
Jazzlife - Japan |
| "Reminds me of a young Chick Corea." |
|
Richie Bierach |
| "An understanding and control of the Shorter-Hancock style." |
|
Cadence June, 1999 |
| "Rick DellaRatta is one of the smoothest and most engaging pianists on the jazz scene today. Not only that, but he is a vocalist with a great power to thrill and move the listener, with some of the fragile delicacy that Chet Baker had in his youth, but with a greater sense of assurance. Pianistically he is unflaggingly lyrical and always inventive, with numerous subtle harmonic touches that both surprise and delight..." "...with supreme confidence and an almost casual insouciance, DellaRatta's vocals create a genial atmosphere and his piano playing subtly scales pyrotechnical heights..." |
| Robert
Spencer - allabout jazz.com "Unsung Jazz Heroes" |
