Jack West & Curvature
"Phenomenal forward looking music" - East Bay Express
"Bold, boundless exploration...seamless ensemble give and take...By all means, expect the unexpected." - Pacific Sun.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Curvature is an ensemble of virtuoso musicians engaged in the development of Jack West's ground breaking progressive acoustic jazz concept. While nothing explains it better than listening to their most recent CD, the music can be described as a collection of unusual and completely original rhythmic ideas infused with elements of acoustic blues, modern jazz improvisation, and funk--all in the radical context of 8-string acoustic guitar, 14 string pedal steel/dobro, marimba lumina, and drums.
Composition to tweak the mind
Jack West's "brilliant original compositions" (Contra Costa Times) are characterized by "tight arrangements, musical use of odd-time signatures and polyrhythms, and engaging, intricate melodies" (Electronic Musician). Harmonically speaking, the music is not too "out"--Curvature engages the listener instead with music that is "immediately accessible, owing to West's beguiling melodic sensibility and his absorbing percussive attack" (SF Bay Guardian).
Groove to shake the behind
More than any one thing, rhythm is the key to Curvature's music. Though the band can dive deep into the land of polyrhythms, and odd-meters, they can also lay down an irrestible funky groove if the house wants to move. People are frequently surprised at how natural sounding West's unusual rhythms are--like why hasn't anyone played this before? To Jack West though, it is all just simply a matter of maintaining proper curvature on the groove. "All rhythms are curved like life. I just look for rhythmic cycles and melodic arcs that accurately reflect the cycles and experiences of my life."
Improvisation to lift the soul
Innovative compositions serve as launching pads for intense improvisation. The combination of Joel Davel's outrageous marimba lumina improvisations, David Phillips' screaming pedal steel solos, and Jack West's soulful slide guitar work is best summed up by a recent comment in the Oakland Tribune: "Nothing short of astounding!". Each of these world class musicians has developed masterful improvisational techniques on instruments rarely heard in this context.
Who's on bass?
One of the most interesting and initially disorienting aspects to the Curvature experience live is that the acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and marimba lumina are not fixed in their typical roles. Bass lines, melodies, and chords flow seamlessly between the three instruments while the musicians enjoy the freedom of multi-faceted expression.
Never heard before
Bizarre instruments, role reversals, and virtuoso performances aside, Curvature is developing a strong following on the west coast right now primarily because the music is original and recognizable and is not simply a collage of musical styles. Though the primary elements of American music are all brought to the table--West brings acoustic blues/jazz, Phillips brings country/rock, Davel brings electronic/new music, Gray brings Gospel/funk/hip-hop--it is all mixed with such a heavy dose of new, creative ideas that the end result absolutely "sounds like something never heard before" (Oakland Tribune).
On tour now
Curvature is currently touring their fourth independent release for Ahead Behind Music, Big Ideas. West is busy now composing new material which will be premiered at Yoshi's Jazz House in Oakland, California (February, 2002) and then recorded shortly thereafter for a fall 2002 release.
Who is Curvature?
JACK WEST - 8 STRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR
"Astounding rhythmic dexterity and unorthodox percussive technique...unusual time signatures and odd rhythms...Jack West never has to worry about being mistaken for another guitarist" - San Jose Mercury News
A mostly self-taught musician from Savannah, Georgia, West has developed a highly personal sound using unusual tunings and a dazzling combination of bluesy slide work, finger-picking, simultaneous bass line/melody work, and unorthodox percussive techniques. Add to this West's "brilliant original compositions" (Oakland Tribune) and his work as founder and leader of Curvature, and you see why he is rapidly creating a buzz on the west coast.
A prolific composer, West has just completed his fifth release for Ahead Behind Music. Three of these recordings have received national recognition for their exceptional quality as independently produced CD's. As We Know It was recently chosen over thousands of entries as winner of the Acoustic Guitar Magazine Self-Released CD Award for its "superb quality and originality." West's recordings are also featured regularly on NPR's "All Things Considered".
JOEL DAVEL - MARIMBA LUMINA
"Joel Davel blew everyone [at Lincoln Center] away with his virtuosic improvisation" - Wall Street Journal
Milwaukee native Joel Davel is a versatile percussionist dedicated to breaking new ground in a variety of musical contexts. In addition to being Jack West's primary collaborator in Curvature over the last 5 years, Joel performs regularly with electronic/new music icon Paul Dresher and avant/electronic diva Amy X Neuburg.
Nowadays Davel performs primarily on his Marimba Lumina, a brand new instrument that he helped design with instrument inventor Don Buchla. It is an electronic instrument with capabilities way beyond any keyboard or MIDI device. Striking and rubbing the keys with four custom mallets, Davel attains a level of expressiveness and "human feel" equal to that of an acoustic instrument. You gotta see him live to believe it!
DAVID PHILLIPS - PEDAL STEEL GUITAR, DOBRO
The other Georgia native in Curvature, David Phillips is generally recognized as the reigning king of pedal steel in the Bay Area and one of the few players in the world that takes the instrument into the realm of high level jazz improvisation. He has hundreds of records to his credit as a sideman and has worked with artists as varied as Tom Waits, Charlie Hunter, and Johnny Paycheck.
Phillips' primary instrument in Curvature is his unusual 14 string pedal steel guitar. This instrument covers an enormous range (low E on a bass to as high as a violin) and in the hands of David Phillips the instrument covers the gamut from long sustained chords to bass lines to screaming solos.
PETER VALSAMIS - DRUMS
DARIAN GRAY - DRUMS
The fact that Memphis, Tennessee native Darian Gray plays the only "normal" instrument in Curvature doesn't prevent him from being the driving force behind the band's complex rhythmic machine and a major part of the excitement that the band generates on stage. In addition to his work with Curvature over the past year, Gray has already made quite a name for himself in the Bay Area and is currently performing regularly with the world-renowned Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir and several other Bay Area ensembles.
Darian Gray is a gifted young drummer with an incredibly natural and funky feel. No matter what kind of tune and no matter how complicated the rhythm, Gray always find a way to make it funky and tight.
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