Jerry Granelli - The V16 Project (2003)

Jerry Granelli reunites with guitarist Christian Kögel and picks up guitarist David Tronzo and bass player Anthony Cox for the V16 Project. However, the music this band makes is markedly different than Granelli's past two guitar, bass and drum lineups (News From the Street, Broken Circle). First off, Granelli has a hybrid electro-acoustic drum kit now, and Kögel and Tronzo are both armed with samplers (mostly for looping purposes, not sound effects) and the results are astounding. In the liner notes, Granelli claims that "this music is based on three vehicles: spontaneous composition, pre-composed pieces, and sonic adventure." There's something to be said for truth in advertising. The album starts with the only composition from outside the band, the old standard "Temptation." Acoustic and electric guitars are introduced, looped, and layered until they sound like a virtual swarm as the tune kicks into high gear. The band works extremely well together: Cox is generally the anchor, with Granelli supplying rhythm and extra "sonic adventure" through his electronic percussion. Kögel and Tronzo are basically free to indulge themselves on all manner of guitar (electric, acoustic, slide, wah-wah, fuzz), and have sufficiently different playing styles that don't interfere with each other. After the first three composed pieces, it's time for Granelli to sit out for a few improvised pieces, then rejoin for some more "spontaneous composition." In the hands of these musicians, spontaneous composition is not exactly the same as free improvisation, as there is both a strong rhythmic and melodic element present in all these tunes, and each player is a consummate listener. The tunes range from quite intense, "Temptation" and "Black Confederacy," to the beautiful and lyrical "Family Man," which features some fantastic slide work from Tronzo. Adventurous listeners and avant-guitar fans should definitely check out the V16 Project. ~ by Sean Westergaard, AMG. 

Songlines Recordings, SGL SA1544-2, 2003
Recorded 23rd-25th April, 2003 at The Terrarium, Minneapolis, Minnesota 

Musicians:
Jerry Granelli - Electro-Acoustic Percussion
Anthony Cox - Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass Guitar
Christian Kögel - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Sampler
David Tronzo - Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Sampler 

Tracks:
01. Temptation {Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed} (11:17)
02. O Bossa, Where Art Thou? {Christian Kögel} (7:01)
03. Lunch With Mr. Wong / Leaving Mr. Wong's {Jerry Granelli} (7:24)
04. Acoustic Trio {Cox, Kögel, Tronzo} (1:44)
05. Acoustic Duo {Christian Kögel, David Tronzo} (3:49)
06. Cassius {Anthony Cox} (2:51)
07. Hobo Comedies {Granelli, Cox, Kögel, Tronzo} (4:56)
08. Family Man {Anthony Cox} (2:49)
09. Walk By {Granelli, Cox, Kögel, Tronzo} (0:23)
10. Mutator {Granelli, Cox, Kögel, Tronzo} (4:05)
11. Good Wheat {Cox, Kögel, Tronzo} (2:45)
12. Texas Oklahoma Conspiracy {Granelli, Cox, Kögel, Tronzo} (3:34)
13. Black Confederacy {Anthony Cox} (4:21) 

Total Time: 57:04 

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes - Jerry Granelli
Producer - Tony Reif
Engineer - Jeff Mee
Assistant Engineer - Eric Olsen
Engineer, Mixing - Jason Orris
Editing, Mastering - Dawn Frank
Collage, Photography - Amy Fastenau
Photography - Steven Gale, Steve Purd 

Family Man

Jerry Granelli And Badlands - Enter, A Dragon (1998)

Granelli follows his own muse, with an eclecticism that combines an array of styles. This is his first recording with his group called Badlands, and the drummer/leader mixes offbeat compositions with scintillating solos for each of the 15 tracks. Of course, it does not hurt to head a septet whose members include such outstanding improvisers as saxophonists Briggan Krauss, Peter Epstein, and Chris Speed, and a trombonist as savvy as Curtis Hasselbring. Through it all, drummer Granelli manages to improvise duets with each of the musicians, including his talented son, J. Anthony Granelli, who plays acoustic guitar and electric bass, and deft pianist Jamie Saft, who doubles on clavinet, accordion, and slide guitar. Moods change with the drop of a coin, yet there is a coherent quality to it all that draws the listener into a magical world where just about anything goes. ~ by Steve Loewy, AMG. 

Songlines Recordings, SGL-1521-2, 1998
Recorded 13th & 14th September, 1997 at Systems Two, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Jerry Granelli - Drums, Bells
Curtis Hasselbring - Trombone
Briggan Krauss - Alto Saxophone
Peter Epstein - Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Chris Speed - Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone
Jamie Saft - Piano, Clavinet, Accordion, Slide Guitar
J. Anthony Granelli - Electric Bass, Bass Guitar [Acoustic] 

Tracks:
01. Enter, A Dragon {Jerry Granelli} (3:21)
02. Haiku I {Peter Epstein, Jerry Granelli} (2:10)
03. Berlin Sky {Jerry Granelli} (7:50)
04. Shih {Jerry Granelli} (4:56)
05. Bou Noura {J. Anthony Granelli} (8:39)
06. Haiku II {Jerry Granelli, Curtis Hasselbring} (1:39)
07. Haiku III {Jerry Granelli, Jamie Saft} (2:15)
08. Sting Thing {Jerry Granelli} (7:25)
09. Black Montana Cheer {Curtis Hasselbring} (3:56)
10. Haiku IV {Jerry Granelli, Briggan Krauss} (1:34)
11. Fainting Sheep {Jerry Granelli} (7:37)
12. Haiku V {Jerry Granelli, Chris Speed} (2:05)
13. Haiku VI {J. Anthony Granelli, Jerry Granelli} (1:53)
14. The Dragon {Jerry Granelli} (9:18)
15. Rhythm Aces {Jerry Granelli} (2:29) 

Total Time: 67:19 

Credits:
Producer - J. Anthony Granelli, Jerry Granelli
Executive-Producer - Tony Reif
Recording, Editing & Mastering - A.T. Michael MacDonald
Artwork [Drawings & Writings] - Jerry Granelli
Design, Photography [Brooklyn] - Heidi Bullinga 

Fainting Sheep

Jerry Granelli - What I Hear Now (2014)

This is what master drummer Jerry Granelli hears now: a wide variety of left-of-center music that circumvents strict harmonic corralling, thanks to the absence of guitar or piano, and makes good use of multiple horns. Of course, if you catch Granelli a few months down the road, he might hear something completely different. Over the past half a century, Jerry Granelli has been making his mark by being his own man. Who else but a staunch individualist could make his initial splash(es) by holding down the drum chairs in the Vince Guaraldi Trio and the Denny Zeitlin Trio. For nearly three decades, Granelli has been cranking out creative music under his own name. Here, Granelli builds on the trio he has with bassist Simon Fisk and saxophonist Dani Oore, adding two other saxophonists - Andrew McKelvey and Mike Murley - and trombonist Andrew Jackson to the mix. The resultant music, not surprisingly, is highly eclectic. What I Hear Now opens with "Prologue," a number that finds saxophones in search mode, looking to and fro for answers. "Run Danny Run" keeps the focus on the horns, but Granelli joins in, contributing to the pointed rhythmic dialogue that urges the song forward. Then there's the desert stroll of "Walter White," grounded by the bass-drum hookup of Granelli and Fisk; the noir-ish "Mystery," a number which is smoky and wholly seductive; the slinky and hip "Dance For Me"; the slow-moving, horn-centered "Another Place"; and "The Swamp," a killer odd-metered groove number that never feels odd. In less than forty minutes, Granelli convincingly covers more ground than plenty of other musicians could cover given several albums worth of space. ~ Extract by Dan Bilawsky, AAJ. 

Addo Records, AJR030, 2015
Recorded September, 2014 at The Sonic Temple, Halifax Nova Scotia

Musicians:
Jerry Granelli - Drums
Mike Murley - Tenor Saxophone
Dani Oore - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones
Andrew McKelvey - Alto Saxophone
Andrew Jackson - Trombone
Simon Fisk - Bass [3 String Bassetto] 

Tracks:
1. Prologue (2:04)
2. Run Danny Run (5:15)
3. Walter White (4:26)
4. Mystery (6:15)
5. Dance For Me (6:21)
6. Another Place (4:44)
7. The Swamp (8:23) 

Total Time: 37:28 

Credits:
Producer, Liner Notes - Jerry Granelli
Executive-Producer - Colin MacKenzie
Engineer - Darren van Niekerk
Photography - Hannah Thomson
Art Direction, Cover Design - Jeremy Green