DAVID

D B
B INNEY
 PRESS KIT

ABOUT DAVID BINNEY 1

DISCOGRAPHY & WORK 2-3
BANDS 4
SIDEMEN 5
PRESS 6-23
TECHNICAL RIDER 24

INFO@DAVIDBINNEY.COM
WWW.DAVIDBINNEY.COM
"Dave Binney possesses one of the most
original minds in contemporary music."
- Stereophile
"Add Dave Binney's dynamic voice on
saxophone and his great writing to the
chorus of creators re-invigorating jazz."
- The Montreal Gazette
"...a strikingly original composer, leader,
conceptualist."
- DownBeat
DAVID BINNEY
Acclaimed as a considerable and
highly individual compositional
talent, saxophonist David Binney
is one of the most prolific young
jazz musicians on the scene today.
Winning praise from critics and
colleagues alike, David was recently
singled out by Jazz Times as one
of a handful of "young players
who have created an alternative
jazzscene... all of whom are playing
adventurous, original music."
Known for his performances with
such prestigious groups as the
big bands of Gil Evans and Maria
Schneider, as well as with Jim
Hall, Bobby Previte and the Cecil
McBee quintet. David was also
a co-founder of the hard-edged
quintet "Lost Tribe" and the
open-form collective quartet
"Lan Xang." With these groups
and on his own, he has recorded
a dozen albums as leader
or co-leader.
David was born in Miami, Florida
and raised in Southern California.
His love of jazz dates back to his
childhood, when the music of
Coltrane, Miles, Bobby Hutcherson,
Wayne Shorter and many others
was introduced to him by his
parents [along with that of Milton
Nascimento, Jimi Hendrix and
SlyStone, of course].
He began to study the saxophone
and at the age of 19 moved to
New York City to play gigs and
to study with Phil Woods, David
Liebman and George Coleman.
In 1989 David was awarded a
grant from the National Endowment
for the Arts to record his first
album. "Point Game", which was
released on the French label Owl
Records, featuring Marvin "Smitty"
Smith, Edward Simon, Adam
Rogers and Lonnie Plaxico.
Since then, David's distinctive
saxophone sound and innovative
compositions have been heard
from basement clubs in New York
to jazz festivals in Europe. In
addition to David's extensive
work as a leader, he has been
sought after as a sideman, appearing
on record with Medeski, Martin
& Wood and Uri Caine's Mahler
Project. David has also appeared
on stage with Aretha Franklin, at
Carnegie Hall, and with Maceo
Parker, to name a few. He has
produced all of his own albums,
in addition to two of the Lost
Tribe releases. David started his
record label, Mythology Records,
in 1998.
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 Lan Xang :: Hidden Gardens
Naxos Records | 2000

DISCOGRAPHY David Binney :: Free to Dream

Mythology Records |1998
[Jeff Hirshfield, Edward Simon, Kenny Wollesen, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers,
Donny McCaslin & others]
AS A PRODUCER ::
Edward Simon Group :: La Bikina
• All of his own records
Mythology Records | 1998
Donny McCaslin :: In Pursuit [Edward Simon, Mark Turner, Ben Street, Adam Cruz and others]
Sunnyside | 2007
Lan Xang :: Lan Xang
Donny McCaslin :: SOAR Mythology Records | 1998
Sunnyside | 2006 [Scott Colley, Donny McCaslin, Jeff Hirshfield]
Scott Colley :: Architect of the Silent Moment Lost Tribe :: Many Lifetimes
CAM Jazz | 2006 Arabesque Records | 1998
Joel Harrison :: So Long Second Street David Binney :: The Luxury of Guessing
ACT Record | 2004 Audioquest Records |1995
[Jeff Hirshfield, Scott Colley, Uri Caine, Ben Monder, Donny McCaslin]
Donny McCaslin :: The Way Through
Arabesque Records| 2003 Lost Tribe :: Soulfish
Windham Hill/High St. Records | 1994
Jamie Baum (co) | 1996
Lost Tribe :: Lost Tribe Windham
Lost Tribe :: Soulfish (co) | 1995
Hill Records | 1993 | Produced by Walter Becker
Lost Tribe :: Many Lifetimes (co) | 1998
David Binney :: Point Game
Owl Records/Mesa-Bluemoon Records | 1991
FULL DISCOGRAPHY ::
[Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Edward Simon, Lonnie Plaxico, Adam Rogers]
David Binney & Edward Simon :: Oceanos
Donny McCaslin :: In Pursuit
Criss Cross Records | February 2007
Sunnyside | 2007
[Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers]
Scott Colley :: Architect of the Silent Moment
David Binney :: Cities and Desire
CAM Jazz | 2006
Criss Cross Records | Fall 2006
[Mark Turner, Craig Taborn, Dan Weiss, Thomas Morgan] Samo Salamon Sextet :: Ela’s Dream
David Binney :: Out of Airplanes Splasch Records | 2005
Mythology Records | Spring 2006 Alex Sipiagin :: Equilibrium
[Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn, Eivind Opsvik, Kenny Wollesen] Criss Cross Records | 2005
David Binney :: Bastion of Sanity Alex Sipiagin :: Images
Criss Cross Records | 2005 TCB Records | 1998
[Chris Potter, Jacob Sacks, Dan Weiss, Thomas Morgan]
Joel Harrison :: So Long Second Street
David Binney & Edward Simon :: Fiestas de Agosto ACT Records | 2004
Red Records | 2005
Joel Harrison :: Free Country
David Binney :: Welcome to Life ACT Records | 2003
Mythology Records | 2004 [Norah Jones, Uri Caine & others]
[Chris Potter, Craig Taborn, Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers]
Donny McCaslin :: The Way Through
David Binney & Jeff Hirshfield :: A Small Madness Arabesque Records | 2003
Auand Records | 2003
Eric St. Laurent Group :: Osmose
David Binney :: Balance Jazzhaus Muzik | 2003
ACT Records | 2002 [Featured Special Guest]
[Wayne Krantz, Uri Caine, Tim Lefebvre, Fima Ephron, Donny McCaslin,
Adam Rogers, Jim Black] Jazzhole :: Circle of the Sun | 2003

David Binney :: Afinidad Jazzhole :: And the Feeling Goes Round

RED Records | 2001 Mesa-Bluemoon Records | 1995
[Edward Simon, Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers, Lucia Pulido] Jazzhole :: Jazzhole
David Binney :: South Mesa-Bluemoon Records | 1994 Featured Soloist
ACT Records | 2001
[Chris Potter, Uri Caine, Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers, Jim Black] discography continued...
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 "When he's soloing, Binney flies fast, writhing off every-which-
way, working through sequences of note exploration that leave no
openings for omission. As a composer, he's adept at knitting jazz

DISCOGRAPHY tradition together with funk, soul, fusion, rock and minimalist
tendencies, but these are so skillfully integrated into the music that
they seem like natural elements as opposed to clearly defined influences.
...continued Binney is a jazz subversive, intent on making his music accessible
to more mainstream fans, but still unsettling the ears with forays into
John Zorn :: Voices in the Wilderness
Tzadik Records | 2003
uncaged turbulence."

Fima Ephron :: Soul Machine

- Martin Longley
Tzadik Records | 2001
Matthew Garrison :: Matthew Garrison
GJP | 2000
David Gilmore :: Ritualism
Kashka Music | 2000
OTHER WORK
Uri Caine Mahler Project :: Live in Toblach BANDS ::
Winter & Winter | 1999
Jim Hall Quartet
Uri Caine Mahler Project :: Urlicht
Winter & Winter | 1997 Uri Caine :: Mahler Project

Drew Gress’ Jagged Sky :: Heyday Uri Caine :: Bach Project

Soulnote Records | 1998 Lost Tribe | Adam Rogers, Ben Perowsky, Fima Ephron
Leni Stern :: Recollection Global Theory | James Genus, Dave Gilmore, Uri Caine,
LSR Recordings | 1998
[Kenny Wollesen, Don Falzone, and others] Rodney Holmes
Scott Colley :: Portable Universe Marvin "Smitty" Smith :: Electric Band
Freelance Records | 1998
Wayne Krantz Band
Medeski, Martin, and Wood :: It’s a Jungle in Here
Joel Harrison :: Free Country
Grammavision Records | 1994
Kenny Wollesen :: "The Wollesens"
Virgil Moorfield :: Distractions on the Way to the Kings Party | 1994
Steve Bernstein :: Sex Mob | John Medeski
Dreamtime | Fibre Records | 1993
Gil Evans Orchestra
Life on Mars | 1993 | Featured Special Guest
Maria Schneider Orchestra
Lonnie Plaxico :: Short Takes
Muse Records |1993 Lan Xang | Donny McCaslin, Kenny Wollesen, Scott Colley
Alain Mion :: In New York | 1992 Drew Gress :: Jagged Sky | Kenny Wollesen, Ben Monder
[Tom Rainey & Marc Johnson]
Bobby Previte :: Horse
Fernando Tarres :: Cyclical Obsessions
Edward Simon Group
Boomish :: Clearance Sale
Cecil Mcbee Band
ESC Records | 2000
Eumir Deodato Band
Boomish :: Kinetic Surge

"One of the most absorbingly original younger saxophonists on GIGS ::

the international jazz scene..."
Aretha Franklin | Carnegie Hall 1996
- John Fordham
Maceo Parker | Montreal 1996
"...David Binney has been carving the kind of musical niche Jamiroquai | Montreal 1995
that most artists dream of. Though he's a potent and innovative
player, his compositional skills are even more important. His Saturday Night Live Band | NYC 1999
writing is so distinctive that one can identify a Binney composition, Jim Hall Quartet | Village Vanguard 2001
regardless of the context, within the first bars... Binney has
Lucinda Williams | Central Park 2002
been developing a reputation for complex form that still
leaves ample room for improvisational exploration."
- John Kelman, Afinidad 3
 BANDS
BALANCE PROJECT
David Binney :: alto saxophone
Craig Taborn :: piano
Thomas Morgan :: bass
Dan Weiss :: drums
Mark Turner :: tenor saxophone
[budget allowing]
available throughout 2007
“ALTO SAXOPHONIST
WELCOME TO LIFE PROJECT AND COMPOSER
David Binney :: alto saxophone
DAVID BINNEY ISN’T
Chris Potter :: tenor saxophone
EASY TO CATEGORIZE.
Craig Taborn :: piano ‘SCIENTIFIC AVANT -
Adam Rogers :: guitar GARDIST’ MIGHT
Scott Colley :: bass APPLY. OR ‘LYRICAL
Brian Blade :: drums MATHEMATICIAN.’
OR ‘INTRICATE POET.’
available throughout 2007
HOWEVER WE DESCRIBE
HIM, HIS MUSIC
DAVID BINNEY & EDWARD SIMON :: AFINIDAD GROUP
SPEAKS OF ORDER,
• also available for duo concerts :: Fiestas de Agosto | Red Records 2005
DIRECTION, FOCUSED
David Binney :: alto saxophone PACING & BEHIND THE
Edward Simon :: piano SCENES LOGIC.”
Ben Street :: bass
- OWEN CORDLE
Antonio Sanchez :: drums
available throughout 2007

David Binney is something brand-new – a wild, fresh wind stirring

up the status quo of the current jazz scene. His compositions and
arrangements for octet are like action paintings: sudden twists of
line, spattering starts and stops, the broad brush stroke of frantic
riffs, then the dark shapes of somber dirges. These are the familiar BOOKING ::
elements from rock and classical music and several jazz genres, INFO@DAVIDBINNEY.COM
but the blend is Binney’s... No one else hears music this way. WWW.DAVIDBINNEY.COM
David Binney has announced himself.”
- Thomas Conrad

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 SIDEMAN BIOGRAPHIES
CRAIG TABORN
Jazz pianist and organist, Craig Taborn,
began working professionally during the
1990's in a variety of musical contexts;
ranging from straight-ahead jazz to more
outside music, with young jazz musicians,
seasoned veterans, and even techno artists.
In his hometown of Minneapolis, Taborn
studied piano, composition, and music theory
with area university professors before going
away to college. Prior to graduating from
college, Taborn performed on three recordings
as a member of the James Carter Quartet.
After graduating with a liberal arts degree
from the University of Michigan in 1995,
DIW released Taborn's first date as a leader,
The Craig Taborn Trio. He then moved to
New York City, and by the close of the '90s,
had performed on two more Carter releases,
Roscoe Mitchell's 1999 ECM release: Nine to
Get Ready, Detroiter Carl Craig's techno-jazz
project: Innerzone Orchestra, and on Hugh
Ragin's Afternoon in Harlem. At the begin-
ning of 2000, Taborn was active performing
along with drummer Tom Rainey in Tim
Berne's latest project, Quiksand.
THOMAS MORGAN
Thomas Morgan was born on August 14,
1981 in Hayward, California. He began
to study the cello at the age of seven and
continued until the age of fourteen, when
his attention turned to the double bass. In
May of 2003 he completed his Bachelor of
Music degree at the Manhattan School of
Music, where he studied with Harvie S and
Garry Dial. Thomas plays concerts in New
York and abroad with such artists as Joey
Baron, Dave Binney, Steve Cardenas, Brad
Shepik, Luciana Souza, Adam Rogers, and
Chris Potter.
• photography by Thomas Lee
DAN WEISS
Dan Weiss starting playing drums at age
six. He has performed with Lee Konitz, the
Vanguard Orchestra, the Kenny Werner Trio,
Richie Bierach, and Steve Swallow. Dan has
also recorded for Omnitone, Fresh Sound,
and Unleaded records. He has been studying
tabla for 5 years with Pandit Samir Chatterjee
and has accompanied Ramesh Misra, Mandira
Lahiri, and Dance Theatre of Harlem perform-
ing on tabla. Performance venues include
the Village Vanguard, Birdland, the Blue
Note, and the 55Bar among others. Dan has
toured Europe numerous times. His teachers
have been John Riley, Joe Chambers, Jamey
Haddad, and David Noon [composition].
MARK TURNER [+ Cities and Desire]
Mark Turner Born November 10, 1965 in
Ohio, Turner was raised in California and
initially studied visual arts at Long Beach
State, but decided instead to pursue music
and transferred to Berklee. Turner moved to
New York and worked with James Moody,
Jimmy Smith, the Tana Reid Quintet, Ryan
Kisor, Jonny King, Leon Parker, and Joshua
Redman. He recorded his first album as a
leader, Yam Yam, in 1994; the follow-up, a
self-titled effort, did not appear until 1998.
In This World appeared later that same year,
and in early 2000 Turner resurfaced with
The Ballad Session. Cafe Oscurra appeared
a year later. - Steve Huey, All Music Guide
“BINNEY IS WORKMANLIKE
AND DESERVES GREAT
CREDIT FOR CREATING A
CONTEXT FOR WHICH THESE
PLAYERS REVEL.”
- STUART MICHOLSON
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DAVID BINNEY
Cities and Desire
By John Kelman
It’s no surprise that altoist David Binney could come up
with a record as evocative as Cities and Desire, but it is
surprising that he could come up with it in a single-day
session. Like last year’s Criss Cross disc Bastion of Sanity,
his new album is more of a flat-out blowing session than
his other efforts. Even the moodier and more ambient Out
of Airplanes (Mythology, 2006), which included a number
of free improvisations edited in post-production, was generally
more compositionally focused.
That’s not to say there’s any less attention to writing on
Cities and Desire—or, with its uninterrupted flow, less
strong a narrative than that on Out of Airplanes. But
unlike the Out of Airplanes group, this is a gigging band,
and it shows. Dan Weiss—one of the most inventive
young drummers to emerge in the past decade—and
bassist Thomas Morgan have been a part of Binney’s
regular Tuesday night gigs at New York’s 55 Bar for
nearly five years. Morgan and Weiss make an incredibly
malleable and responsive rhythm section; Weiss’ interest
in Indian music also contributes to the international flavor
of this album. The increasingly ubiquitous pianist Craig
Taborn and perennially underrated but always masterful
saxophonist Mark Turner, while not permanent fixtures
at Binney’s weekly gigs, did play several gigs with him,
Morgan and Weiss before hitting the studio.
Cities and Desire is an aural travelogue, documenting
cities that have become regular stops for Binney when he
has ventured out of the Big Apple. Four of the songs have
solo introductions that set the context for what’s to come.
“Intro to Toronto” begins with Weiss on tabla.
He’s no dabbler on this difficult-to-master instrument, as
he’s already established through his work with guitarist
Rez Abbasi. He remains on tabla through Binney’s statement
of the theme to “Toronto” and the beginning of Taborn’s
thoughtfully constructed solo, only switching to a regular
kit after Morgan enters.
“Lisbon” is pure composition. Weiss and Morgan’s staggered
funk contrasts Taborn’s arpeggios, which form the foundation
for Binney and Turner’s octave-apart unison lines. But it’s
the anomaly on an album where Binney’s distinctive brand
of memorable lyricism acts more as rallying point for the
band, spaced out between open-ended solo passages where
the rules of engagement are more elastic.“Rome,” which
begins with an introspective solo from Morgan, revolves
around an irregular-metered but simple and staggered
theme that dissolves gradually into the greatest abstraction
to be found in any of Binney’s work. While he usually
eschews prodigious displays of technique, Binney’s solo is
one of his most dramatic on record, while Taborn’s angular,
Cecil Taylor-esque solo ends abruptly—indicating that, as
free as things are, there’s still structure at work. While
Binney’s emergence as a composer and player of note has
been gradual, things have been heating up for him the
past couple of years. With the one-two punch of Out of
Airplanes and Cities of Desire, Binney’s combination of
detailed writing and unfettered improvisation has never
been better—or more inevitable.
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Out of Airplanes
By John Kelman
While altoist David Binney has demonstrated growth with
each album he’s released since emerging in the late 1980s,
Out of Airplanes makes the biggest leaps yet, combining
detailed composition with a looser improvisational
approach that has evolved over the past couple of years.
Electronics also make this the most texturally rich record
of Binney’s career.
Binney’s distinctive compositional style is intact, but
he makes numerous departures on Out of Airplanes.
Traditionally drawing on a New York-based cadre of
players, including bassist Scott Colley, guitarist Adam
Rogers, drummer Brian Blade and pianist Edward Simon,
this recording capitalizes on relatively new relationships
with guitarist Bill Frisell, keyboardist Craig Taborn, bassist
Eivind Opsvik and drummer Kenny Wollesen. And for a
change of scenery, Binney ventured out of Brooklyn’s
Systems Two Recording Studios for the first time to record
in Seattle. Sometimes you need to shake everything up to
effect greater change.
Other than one track on South (ACT, 2001), this is the first
album to feature free improvisation as part of the picture.
“Brainstorms Pt 1” and “Pt 2” revolve around repetitive
patterns from Wollesen and Opsvik that might be hypnotic
if Binney, Frisell and Taborn’s abstract contributions weren’t
so jagged. In contrast, “Bring Your Dream” is a moodier
ambient piece. Frisell’s sparse guitar lines spread across
the entire aural landscape, while Taborn’s insectile textures
and Binney’s long-toned multiphonics expand the sonics
and provide a sense of shape.
Binney’s “Instant Distance” is a curious tone poem that
builds from near-nothingness to dramatic power, with
Binney and Taborn doubling ever-shifting four-note phrases
over Wollesen’s maelstrom-like kit work. Frisell ultimately
takes over Binney’s spot, leaving Binney free to layer his
own long tones that effectively complement Opsvik’s spare
bottom end. Outside his collaborative records with Edward
Simon, this is also Binney’s first album in years to share
writing duties. Opsvik’s “Jan Mayen” is based on a simple
concept, but it builds relentlessly from delicate spacious-
ness to denser drama, featuring Binney’s most evocative
and delineated solo of the set.
“Contributors” is classic Binney—an odd-metered left-
hand piano line and drum pattern providing the basis for
mathematically precise layering of guitar, saxophone, bass
and keyboards. No part stands alone, and together they
build a compelling house of cards. The title track also
begins with repeated arpeggios, creating a hypnotic foundation
for Binney’s elliptical theme. But the tune’s attractive
melodism soon breaks down into a textural free middle
section, its strong anthemic finale gradually emerging out
of the chaos. Utilizing the studio as a compositional tool,
Out of Airplanes incorporates considerable post-production
editing, making it reproducible live, but given the improvi-
sational aspect, considerably different in complexion and
form. Bearing the strongest narrative arc of any Binney
record to date, this disc may bring in a wealth of new
concepts, but with his unmistakable signature, it remains
completely in context with his growing body of work.
Note :: Out Of Airplanes is currently available as a download
from Binney’s web site; the hard copy version (minus a
bonus track) will become available in August, 2006.
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DAVID BINNEY
Bastion of Sanity
By John Kelman
Kicking things off with Wayne Shorter’s “Lester Left
Town,” Bastion of Sanity might seem a decidedly
mainstream affair. And, with a cover of Duke Ellington’s
“Heaven” halfway through the 77-minute set, that
intuition might be right. With his quartet of 20-some-
things—pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Thomas Morgan
and drummer Dan Weiss, augmented for this recording
by long-time collaborator Chris Potter on tenor saxophone—
alto saxophonist David Binney has been concentrating
on honing a looser, more freely improvised group sound
at his weekly Tuesday night sessions at the 55 Bar in
New York’s Greenwich Village for over a year-and-a-half.
But while there is more than a passing nod to the
traditional on Bastion of Sanity , the recording also fits
comfortably within a growing body of work that includes
‘01’s and last year’s , two recordings that feature a
more established roster, including Potter, guitarist Adam
Rogers, drummer Brian Blade, bassist Scott Colley and
keyboardists Uri Caine and Craig Taborn, alternatively.
Binney’s own compositions, which make up the balance
of this new set, have always leaned towards complex
form and irregular metres that, while providing space
for soloing, focus more on improvisation within a
predefined structure.
While idiosyncratic arrangements still abound on Bastion
of Sanity , this is an altogether looser blowing affair, with
Binney’s young crew offering proof that there is an
important new wave of young players emerging on the
New York scene. “Try” may fit most closely with Binney’s
writing on Welcome to Life in its longer form and episodic
nature. Still, Binney and Potter both get the opportunity
for more expansive soloing.
The more inward-looking “Plan,” on the other hand, is
a through-composed ballad that has its precedence in
Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti,” with the horns repeating
the theme while the rhythm section, in particular Weiss—
who demonstrates his depth of versatility here, as he
did on guitarist Rez Abassi’s recent - provides the
improvisational impetus.
The title track, even with its elliptical theme stated in
unison by Binney and Potter—a characteristic of much
of Binney’s writing—opens up even further. With the
stronger emphasis on swing that is arguably the
foundation of this set, differentiating it from his other
recordings, Binney demonstrates a rich vocabulary,
echoing the darker tone of early influences including
Gary Bartz and Bennie Maupin. More audacious than
usual during his solo, Binney is supported only by
Morgan, who, at 22, is already a remarkably mature
player - maintaining forward motion while, at the same
time, being intuitively responsive—and Weiss, whose
light cymbal work is redolent of DeJohnette’s early ECM
work. On “Gesturecalm” Sacks mirrors the progressive
approach of Andrew Hill while remaining firmly planted
in the mainstream.
Different than his other recordings, while at the same
time completely in character, Bastion of Sanity finds
Binney in a more open-ended context which he’ll hopefully
continue to explore alongside the more structured
intricacies of his other work.
All material copyright © 1996-2004 All About Jazz and
contributing writers. All rights reserved.
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DAVID BINNEY
John Fordham
Friday February 25, 2005
Bastion of Sanity
The Florida-born alto saxophonist David Binney
never sounds as if he can’t evade or transform
any particular musical or geographical roots.
One of the most absorbingly original younger
saxophonists on the international jazz scene,
Binney certainly doesn’t disguise his early models
- Wayne Shorter and Ornette Coleman sound
like they’re high on his list - but he is comfortable
with most of the language changes that have
happened to the jazz of the past 40 years.
However, unlike his virtuoso sax colleague Chris
Potter (who imaginatively partners him on this
album), Binney is fond of disruptions of melody
and rhythm that put him further out on a limb.
This disc finds Binney and Potter sharing the
alto-tenor frontline with a fine young New York
band drawn from regular visitors to Greenwich
Village’s 55 Bar - including the brilliant pianist
Jacob Sacks, who made such an impact with
Binney and the same bass/drums partnership of
Thomas Morgan and Dan Weiss on their visit to
London last year.
That gig operated in something of a slow-burn,
low-volume manner whereas this collection ups
the intensity and urgency, frequently through
Binney’s highly inventive dialogues with Potter.
There are seven Binney originals on it, but the
feel seems closer to the jazz tradition. Lester
Left Town, a straight swinger Wayne Shorter
wrote for Art Blakey, opens the proceedings
with its downward-spiralling, guffawing primary
line and bouncy resolutions.
Typically, Binney enjoys slowing down its jazzy
momentum, arching idly over long notes where
you expect a triplet feel, or arresting the
momentum with car-horn beeps. The thoughtful
Try is a purring episode of long splashy notes,
bumpy accented chords with a mixture of
suspended time and quietly rugged funk.
Binney’s Wayne Shorter allegiances are
strongly audible on it, and the way the two
saxes share the melody at first, then pull
apart into counterpoint underscores the leader’s
structural sophistication.
Bastion of Sanity is a postbop bustle with that
familiar sense of lots of notes trying to squeeze
through the same narrow doorway; Last
Minute is a fast mixed-tempo feature with a
distantly Caribbean feel (Binney and Potter
together are breathtaking on it), a Duke
Ellington ballad explores Potter’s versatility of
style and tone control, and Jacob Sacks delivers
a stunning solo of fast free-jazz ripples, time-
jugglings, silences and dashing counterpoint on
the fierce Gesturecalm. This is right up to the
intriguingly independent Binney’s usual standard.
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DAVID BINNEY
Afinidad
David Binney/Edward Simon | Red Records
By John Kelman
Since emerging in the mid-‘90s with the cross-genre
fusion group Lost Tribe, alto saxophonist David Binney
has been carving the kind of musical niche that most
artists dream of. Though he’s a potent and innovative
player, his compositional skills are even more impor-
tant. His writing is so distinctive that one can identify
a Binney composition—regardless of the context—
within the first few bars. And between the experimental
cooperative Lan Xang and his own gradually growing
discography, Binney has been developing a reputation
for complex form that still leaves ample room for
improvisational exploration.
Edward Simon has similarly been emerging as one of
his generation’s most versatile and compelling pianists.
Through associations with artists including Bobby
Watson, Greg Osby, and Terence Blanchard, Simon has
demonstrated a remarkable ability to fuse his personal
roots in Latin music—he’s a Venezuelan by birth—
with a more contemporary jazz sensibility. And, over
the past few years, he’s developed a personal rapport
with Binney that has resulted in some particularly special
collaborations, including the recent duet recording for
the Italian Red Records label.
An earlier Red Records collaboration, Afinidad, finds
Binney and Simon in a larger group context that
includes bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade,
along with guitarist Adam Rogers, percussionist Adam
Cruz, and vocalist Lucia Pulido on select tracks.
Perhaps more than any other recording they’ve done
together, Afinidad explores Latin rhythms and textures,
but filtered through Binney and Simon’s own broader
aesthetics they create a sound that, while possessing
unassailable roots, goes in new directions as well:
a more progressive Latin, if you will.
Sharing the writing duties, as well as including two
miniatures by Argentinean composer Ginastera and a
lengthy piece by Venezuelan icon Simon Diaz, Binney’s
contributions are filled with the rich counterpoint that
has come to define his writing, along with memorable
themes that seem to glide atop a more complex rhythmic
backdrop. As intricate as his writing is, there’s a certain
folksiness that drummer Blade’s own band, Fellowship,
has also explored. Binney has a slightly rough edge to
his tone at times, and the ability to build the intensity
of a solo to an exhausting peak, as he does on his
own “Red” and Diaz’s “Mi Querencia.”
Simon’s writing reflects more overt Latin Roots; “Pere”
is a high-energy 5/4 piece that takes the clave tradition
to new places, while “Aguantando” starts with a classical
guitar solo from Rogers that has precedence in Egberto
Gismonti, but is more polished, less raw. A lengthy
melody, sung by Pulido and doubled by Binney,
demonstrates the pair’s mutual kinship, both demonstrating
a similar penchant for long-form thematic development.
Like Binney, Simon takes his time developing his solos,
with a warm approach that, while harmonically
advanced, is never angular or diffuse.
Afinidad documents the growing affinity between
Binney and Simon. It’s remarkable how two artists
from such diverse cultural backgrounds can find a true
common ground through a modernistic approach to
Latin music.
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DAVID BINNEY
JAZZCHICAGO
David Binney::
Cities and Desire | Criss Cross Jazz
Review by Brad Walseth
A blowing session of remarkable depth and beauty, alto saxophonist
/composer David Binney’s “Cities of Desire” succeeds eminently
in its attempts at supercharging the modern jazz sound. mazingly
recorded in one day by Binney with his recent regular rhythm
section of Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums,
along with familiar sidemen Craig Taborn on piano and Mark
Turner on tenor sax, “Cities of Desire” straddles the line between
free jazz interplay and melodic compositional integrity with flair
and vigor.
Taking its title from a section of Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities,”
in which Marco Polo recounts tales of imaginary cities to the
emperor Kubla Khan, Binney’s thematic thread is the aspects
and impressions of various cities he has traveled to and which
have played a part in his life. From a haunting “Lisbon” to a
rollicking “New York City,” pictures are painted of cities from
across the globe. Sometimes, as in “Toronto” - where drummer
Weiss shows his tabla skills (representing the vibrant Indian
population of that city), the music fits the portrait presented,
but it is never clichéd; and even without the program, the music
is always exciting, with complex shifts in time and structure and
varied melodic color and tone. As it should be, the artist’s own
feelings and conceptions about his subjects permeate the songs
- as in “Miami” (homeplace to his late father), which is presented
not as a city of neon and art deco, but as a place of tranquility
and wistful sadness.
Here bassist Morgan plays a touching solo, Taborn’s piano
lines are quietly sensitive, while the altoist’s sweetly emotive
solo speaks volumes. When not playing glimmering cascades of
single horn lines (“Rome”’s solo is perhaps the most unforgettable
highlight of the entire album), Binney plays in unison or trades
intricate and agressive (in a positive sense) interplay with Turner
on songs like “London,” the ever-shifting powerhouse “New
York City,” and the killer “Montreal,” while beneath them bassist
Morgan seems committed to making every note count. Pianist
Taborn comps artfully, and adds shimmering and graceful solos
of his own.
Meanwhile, expansive drummer Weiss is given considerable
rhythmic responsibility in Binney’s arrangements and takes full
advantage of the opportunity. The drummer especially shines on
songs such as “Los Angeles” (of course) and “Montreal,” which
border on a rock feel and add an element of surprise and energy
to the proceedings. Featuring great writing and wonderful playing
by some of the hottest players from today’s New York City jazz
scene, “Cities of Desire” is an exotic musical travelogue that you
will be sure to enjoy.
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DAVID BINNEY

Bopndicks 20 Picks Dec 2006

By Dick Crockett “The Voice” 88.7fm

DAVID BINNEY CITIES AND DESIRE | Criss Cross Jazz

What is that sparks the imagination is difficult to define. Maybe there aren’t really exact words for it,
but a language of music where the musician achieves a truth of expression. A listener can sense it.
Alto saxophonist David Binney draws impressions from his travels for CITIES AND DESIRE, adding an
impressionistic view of those stabilize, places and populaces in many cases around longer than five
hundred years.
What do you feel here. The spirits of lost civilizations in atmospheres and smells of cities in all cases,
it’s Binney’s profound impressions that stand in for this unique collection of habitats through an
interesting counter balance with co saxophonist Mark Turner’s contributions where they begin to slow
and then a minimal rising to a cascading mantra very remarkable in tone with pianist Craig Taborn’s
almost Gould -like variations, a solo “Intro To Carpenteria” to a segue into another full “Carpenteria,”
a cadence vocalizing to a subtle prominence. In many ways the Intros are long range stationary
camera views that slow to a focus on a central theme, all dream like at first , then slowly move to a
close up, a Jacque Tati concept, the ordinary being extraordinary.
You can lay back and listen to this whole CD and receive all the inalterable, all the minor elements we
never focus on and really see... David Binney’s new CD may just be a symphony of urbanity and desire!

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DAVID BINNEY

Jazz
OWEN CORDLE, Correspondent
3 1/2 Stars

Alto saxophonist and composer David Binney isn’t easy to categorize. “Scientific avant-gardist”
might apply. Or “lyrical mathematician.” Or “intricate poet.” However we describe him, his music
speaks of order, direction, focused pacing and behind-the-scenes logic. While the title “Cities and
Desire” (Criss Cross) may conjure up a romantic movie score, Binney offers a different perspective
— a fine romance, but don’t expect Mancini. The Binney tour (in order) includes Lisbon, London,
Toronto, Los Angeles, Carpinteria (his hometown in California), Rome, Montreal, Miami and New
York. His traveling companions include tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Craig Taborn, bassist
Thomas Morgan and drummer Dan Weiss.

“London” affords the first in-depth sound check of Binney’s alto playing. During the theme statement
and his long opening solo, he deals in rangy arpeggios, compressed and elongated rhythms, and
complex melodic ideas. Weiss feeds him counterrhythms and carpenterlike blows. The tonal similarity
between Binney and Turner is striking. Several city portraits feature introductions as separate com-
positions. On “Intro to Toronto,” Weiss plays tabla to set up the initially melancholy mood of
“Toronto.”Perhaps the most traditional piece is “New York City,” a composition reminiscent of Wayne
Shorter. “Miami” turns the tables on what you expect: It’s a slow ballad instead of a fiery Latin
workout.

In this album, the jazz swing rhythm is subservient to a straight, even beat more akin to rock —
although not heavy backbeat rock. The distinction modernizes the rhythmic flow and allows for a certain
asymmetrical phrasing among the soloists. Binney, Turner, Taborn, Morgan and Weiss articulate this
rhythmic terrain as adroitly as Charlie Parker and Max Roach playing bebop in the old days.

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DAVID BINNEY

Vortex, London

John Fordham
Monday March 29, 2004

The Guardian

David Binney was born in Florida and raised in California; he plays on New York’s downtown scene
and records for a German label. The cultural differences may help explain a few things. Binney, an
alto saxophonist, hears contemporary dance grooves, free-improv and traditional swing but stresses
none of them. He has a New Yorker’s bite but an old-style west coast jazzer’s long, twisting lines
and untheatrical dynamics. And his albums display an appetite for formal experiments and a confidence
in the audience’s openness more usually associated with European than American jazz today.

Binney and his American quartet wound a packed house around his busy fingers at the weekend,
with music that made few concessions to familiar licks or hooks. A diminutive figure in a baseball
|cap, Binney maintained a patient impassivity while the music was kept mostly at low volume, with
accelerations into heady ensemble intensity. At times, his playing recalled the drily legato sax lines
of Greg Osby or Steve Coleman, but with an airy, less percussive feel. Jacob Sacks, a fascinating
pianist, explored almost Satie-like melodic fragments on his own; once or twice drummer Dan Weiss
edged up on him with quiet, hip-hop-inflected beats that swelled in intensity. Binney would insert
himself into this gathering chatter with long, slow sounds, like a shy late arrival at a party, building
softly lyrical melodies into yelping double-time as the free-funk groove deepened.

An Ornette Coleman-like theme unfolded over a jazzier bounce from Weiss. Trancelike repetition of
a single note from Binney allowed Weiss’s variations and the fleet basslines of Thomas Morgan to
flourish, while an ambiguous short sax phrase became a mantra. Last Minute, the band’s triumphant
finale, mingled elliptical funk and bursts of breezy jazz-time. This is a band that really plays with one
voice, for all the sometimes abstract character of the music.

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DAVID BINNEY

WFFA.COM
NEWS FOR DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TEXAS

CD BRIEFS:: DAVID BINNEY

MAY 4, 2005

An exceptionally animated, full-bodied version of Wayne Shorter’s “Lester Left Town” opens “Bastion
of Sanity,” which also includes an elegant take on Duke Ellington’s “Heaven.” However, what really
sets the album apart is the compositional strength of alto saxophonist David Binney’s originals. The
melodies are tricky but enticing, and artfully structured arrangements provide the constant thrill of
development.

Grade: A
Bastion of Sanity | Criss Cross Jazz

The tracks never descend into the banality of the head-solo-solo format – thanks also to quick reflex-
es shared by cohort Chris Potter (of Dave Holland’s celebrated quintet) on tenor. Sparks fly on the contem-
plative “Plan” as well as on the punchy, kinetic “Last Minute” and fleet title track. Pianist Jacob
Sacks, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Dan Weiss may be less seasoned than Mr. Potter and Mr.
Binney (who has worked with Jim Hall, Cecil McBee, the Gil Evans Orchestra and others), but more
than hold their own.

- Parry Gettelman

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DAVID BINNEY
Fiestas de Agosto
Edward Simon & David Binney
By John Kelman
With the possible exception of solo performance,
there is no more exposed format than the duet.
But while solo playing allows for more complete
freedom of interpretation, the duet demands, perhaps,
a greater sense of responsibility, without the safety
net afforded by larger groupings. In the duet for-
mat there is no room for error; risks are taken
with the knowledge that there is little to hide
behind, and the expectation that one’s partner
simply has to be there without fail at all times.
Still, the duet also provides a great opportunity for
liberated interplay; with only one foil there is a
chance for greater exploration, as long as the two
players are intimately simpatico. Such is the case
with pianist Edward Simon and woodwind multi-
instrumentalist David Binney, who have been
working together in a variety of contexts for over
fifteen years. The result of their long-term association
is the kind of attention to detail, and ability to
intuit the subtlest turn of phrase, that makes their
first album as a duo, Fiestas de Agosto, such a
treat. It’s more than just playing a phrase in uni-
son, and it’s more than catching onto an impro-
vised motif; it’s about being able to anticipate and
lock into the smallest variation in parlance, as well
as more overt rhythmic and melodic conceits.
Simon, a Venezuelan native who relocated to
New York many years ago, is, like more recent
newcomer Luis Perdomo, an artist who has been
able to transcend his Latin and Afro-Cuban roots,
while at the same time not ignoring them.
His “Fiestas” begins with an almost Gismonti-like
abstraction, opening with Binney’s dissonant flutes,
transforming into an abstruse theme over Simon’s
time-staggered chords before shifting into a more
straightforward 3/4 time modal vamp.
While he hasn’t yet achieved widespread acclaim,
Binney is emerging as a truly important figure,
not just for his bold alto playing, which always
seems to be rooted in compositional thought, but
also for his writing, which is instantly recognizable.
While his works for larger ensembles feature heavy
use of counterpoint and signature stylistic conceits
like tenor and alto saxophones playing in unison,
his compositions are no less distinctive when
pared down. With Simon’s advanced left/right
hand independence and Binney’s carefully chosen
notes, they imply more than what is actually played.
It would be missing the point to define this col-
laboration in terms of one player accompanying
the other. While there are clear solo demarcations
and structures that place one instrument more
out front, this is a true collaboration, more about
a collective sound and a combined aesthetic.
While there are no sharp edges here, there are a
variety of emotions on display, from the pensive
lyricism of “Ask the Dust” to the more joyous
“True to Life (reprise).”
Contrasting the light with the dark, the introspective
with the outgoing, Fiestas de Agosto is the result
of two players working with a shared understanding
and a clearly similar set of musical goals.
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 TECHNICAL RIDER
DAVID BINNEY | SAXOPHONE
A good microphone for saxophone ::
• an SM 58 works fine
• not a condenser microphone
One direct box
One table
• approximately three feet in length and two feet wide
2:: inch cables
A good power converter from U.S. to Euro

THOMAS MORGAN | BASS

Small Rooms ::
Bass amp combo
• Galien Krueger | Polytone if possible :: otherwise SWR or Ampeg
• Avoid Acoustic Image, Roland & Peavey
Larger Rooms | Outdoor Stages ::
Bass amp head
Galien Krueger [e.g. 200RB or 400RB] if possible :: otherwise SWR
Avoid Trace Elliot, Hartke & David Eden
Speaker cabinet
• Bag End, Acoustic Image, or Galien Krueger
• Either one 15-inch speaker or two 12-inch speakers
Good microphones on the bass and/or bass amp

DAN WEISS | DRUMS

Gretsch or Sonar drums
18-inch Bass drum
5.5 or 6 Snare
One 10-inch or 12-inch rack tom
One 14-inch or 16-inch floor tom
All “coated” heads
Three cymbal stands
No “boom”
One hi hat stand
One drum stool

CRAIG TABORN | PIANO

1 Good, tuned, acoustic grand piano [preferably Steinway]
Piano bench

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