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CG 132
Spinning The Circle
David Witham
Los Angeles based David Witham has recorded and toured with George Benson as pianist and music director for almost 20 years. As a highly regarded "musician's musician," he has also worked with Michael and Randy Brecker, Al Jarreau, Ernie Watts, Chick Corea, Jose Feliciano, and k.d. lang, to name only a few. On Spinning The Circle, Witham shows his versatility with jazz, world beat, and jamband influenced originals. Featured on this album are guitarist Nels Cline, pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz and drummer Scott Amendola. Available Now!
Reviews
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When your resume ranges from being the musical director/pianist for George Benson for the past two decades to charter member with intrepid Cryptogramophone label head/violinist Jeff Gauthier's Goatette, what do you do for your very first album as a leader? In the case of David Witham, it’s to collect friends from across the musical spectrum he’s worked in for his entire career and bring them together for a first meeting that’s as eclectic and unpredictable as one might expect.
Guest appearances from stalwart Cryptogramophone guitarist Nels Cline and ubiquitous steel guitarist Greg Leisz aside, Witham's core quintet on Spinning the Circle might seem, on paper, to be one headed for a train wreck, but only if you're not familiar with their full breadth of expertise and ability to mold into any context. Witham, who contributes all but two of the disc’s eight tracks, provides plenty of contextual diversity for his band mates.
Drummer Scott Amendola's work with Nels Cline Singers and his own Crypto releases including 2005's Believe is decidedly left-of-center, but his lazy, behind-the-beat groove provides an evolving momentum to the simple melodic premise of Witham’s "N.O. Rising." Jay Anderson may be best known as a contemporary mainstreamer with artists including Bob Mintzer, and Lynne Arriale, but on the abstract angularity of his own "Momentuum" and the free-form opener to what ultimately becomes a more infectiously grooving "Afrobeat," he demonstrates an unexpected side that will surprise more than a few listeners.
Like Witham, woodwind multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosse is a name few will know, but he’s had an active career for forty years, playing behind everyone from Carmen McRae to Paul Anka. A lyrical player comfortable on
saxophones, clarinets, flute and even trumpet, his focus is on developing richly thematic solos, though he lets a little of his unassailable virtuosity peep out on polyrhythmic and quirkily Latinesque "The Circle."
Cline adds edge to the electronica-tinged "The Neon," where his thick-toned, effected solo is in sharp contrast to Crosse's economical tenor, both bolstered by Amendola’s frenetic propulsion and Anderson's warm-bodied straddling of rhythm anchor and responsive equal.
Witham's capabilities range from texturally dense ("The Neon") to expansive yet spare (the Americana-tinged "Con Quien," featuring gorgeous ambient swells from Leisz). While comfortable with the more jagged
extremes of "Momentuum," he's at his best on the rubato tone poem "Light and Life" and purely lyrical "Who Knows," where he demonstrates the kind of attention to space that turns relatively simple ideas into pieces
of elegant beauty.
Spinning the Circle is a long-overdue debut from Witham, an artist who has spent a lifetime in the service of others; now it's time for him to get some of the attention he so richly deserves. By John Kelman
All About Jazz [July 1, 2007]
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Pianist David Witham has worked in many settings and musicians, including maintaining the position of pianist/musical director for contemporary jazz guitarist George Benson for over twenty years. But other sides of his creativity surface on Spinning the Circle, proving, once again, why one shouldn’t pigeon-hole a musician into any specific category.
Like the refraction of light by a prism, many of Witham’s colors are vibrantly displayed in the recording--each distinct and compelling--showing a depth in a variety of styles. Interstellar explorations are envisioned on “The Neon,” powered by sonic bass/drum beats and electronics, in a hip club motif. “Who Knows” quickly returns the listener to earth with its peaceful ballad, and those familiar may also recognize bassist Jaco Pastorius’ “Three Views of a Secret” hidden within the melody. Or take the mellowness of “N.O. Rising,” an uplifting dedication to the first city of jazz--New Orleans--and its post-Katrina efforts.
The high production is also benefited by significant band members including guitar wizard Nels Cline and drummer Scott Amendola, both of whom provide memorable performances. But lesser-known and equally talented contributions make things all the more rewarding such as Greg Leisz’s haunting steel guitar on “Con Quien,” Luis Conte’s percussion touches on “The Circle,” and Jay Anderson’s muscular upright bass on the pensively abstract “Momentuum,” as Witham provides effective moods with an accordion. Saxophonist Jon Crosse plays a variety of reeds, with just the right amount of fire or ice, to fit the need. At over twelve minutes in length “Afrobeat” reaches a feverish pinnacle as the entire band gives it their all, in a creative stew of acoustic and electronics.
Spinning the Circle is not a just a platform for Witham’s playing abilities--which he clearly possesses--but also of his wide interests and resounding skills as a writer, arranger, and composer. These prismatic hues come together nicely in a recording that is intriguing from beginning to end. By Mark F. Turner
Mark F. Turner All About Jazz [July 7, 2007]
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David Witham may be best known for his collaborations with George Benson over the last few decades but Spinning The Circle, the pianist’s latest opus, reveals that he is a solid composer and bandleader in his own right, an artist who draws from a diverse and miraculously refreshing palette. Album opener “The Neon” recalls vintage (circa 1975) space jazz, “Afrobeat” offers just what it promises, while “Momentum” takes listeners on an appropriately long and fascinating journey. Witham also pays tender tribute to jazz’s roots with a nod to the music’s first city, New Orleans, via “N.O. Rising,” as beautiful and tender––and, alternately, stubborn and resolute––as any homage to the town could be. But it’s the gentle “Who Knows” that may be the album’s best track and the one that highlights Witham’s special charms as a pianist best. Joined by an impressive cast of players––including Nels Cline, Luis Conte and the ever-fascinating Greg Leisz––Witham has delivered one of the great jazz records of the year.
By Jedd Beaudoin
Jedd Beaudoin Sea of Tranquility [July 10, 2007]
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*** A jaunty pop sensibility runs through much of Spinning The Circle, which speaks more to David Witham's long employment with George Benson than it does his studies with pianist Jaki Byard. Balancing the tendency toward rhythmic vamps and ebullient themes is a moodier side expressed through electronics and yearning ballads. It's an effective mix, if a bit formulaic. On the uptempo side, the recording gets off to a raucous start with the clatter of digital noise over a funky Scott Amendola drum pattern. What better way to set the table for a distorted workout by guest guitarist Nels Cline? The presence of Amendola, Cline and steel guitarist Greg Leisz set the album up as what might be called "the payback recording," where high-profile friends show up to help out a lesser-known but equally gifted buddy. Witham makes great use out of Cline and Leisz. Cline adds to the electric ambience on "Afrobeat," while Leisz's steel sounds sweet on the bolero "Con Quien" and resolute on the gritty "N.O. Rising." Of the moodier compositions, "Momentuum" is the most memorable, with its tension-filled mix of lap steel, accordion, bass and clarinet.
James Hale Downbeat [November 2007]
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One look at David Witham's recording credits and you can tell the guy's from L.A. The pianist and keyboard player has recorded with everyone from Chaka Khan to Jose Feliciano to k.d. lang. But the music he makes as a leader belies his background as an anonymous hired gun. On Spinning the Circle, Witham's latest recording, the 50-something musician honors the impulses of early fusion without coming across as a sentimentalist. The first sound on the record, for instance, is that of a skittery breakbeat, not the sort of thing you'd expect from someone stuck in the '70s. Witham follows the progressive funk of the opening track ("The Neon") with an Evans-esque piano ballad ("Who Knows"), a country-tinged pop number ("N.O. Rising"), and an accordion-driven freakout ("Momentum"). If these songs suggest that Witham's strength lies in his eclecticism, the later half of the record brings his talents as an instrumentalist into clearer focus. On "Light and Life," an elegant display of moody pianism, Witham proves that he can hold his own with little in the way of accompaniment. His touch is light and his ideas are pleasing but never cloying. He has the chops to make a solo-piano record, yet he is too much of a conceptualist to devote himself to such a single-minded pursuit. He is, in other words, a complete artist, someone who does things because he can - such as L.A. session work - not because he must. -by Brent Burton
Brent Burton Jazz Times [December 2007]
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