Devin Gray feat. Andrea Parkins & Frank Gratkowski
Released: March 6 A drummer by trade, Devin Gray’s latest album has him collaborating with two other artists to create a deep and enveloping musical experience steeped in jazz influences with plenty noise and abstract textures to join in. Andrea Parkins utilizes unspecified electronics along with an accordion and Wurlitzer while Frank Gratkowski provides the woodwinds to include saxophone, flute, and clarinet. It’s with the contributions from Gratkowski that the jazz influences really shine, though Gray himself provides all manner of jazz-inspired drum fills, and the contributions from Parkins keep the album deeply in the territory of experimental. The melange of influences comes together in something that is innovative, experimental, and with just a slight abrasive edge. “In Vivo” opens the alum on a darkly tinged note while the more obvious jazz improvisations begin on the second track, “Longtermism.” It’s at this point that things shift a bit into an airier and more space...
