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News Recordings Bios Contact Media Home BLOGS: Plunge: Inverted Pyramid Entrepreneurship Article by James Price The Sweet Sound - by Nelson Eubanks Mark McGrain discusses the music of PLUNGE
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Buy the CD or Digital Download ArtsJournal by Doug Ramsey, Rifftides Plunge, Dancing On Thin Ice (Immersion) - Plunge is among the best post-Katrina jazz developments in New Orleans music. In the city's tradition of absorbing, assimilating and combining disparate elements, this unorthodox trio is indeed on thin ice at times, without losing sight of the shore of New Orleans convention. Trombonist Mark McGrain, saxophonist Tim Green and bassist James Singleton are out there with chancy harmonies, elastic time and forays into electronics, but they are also inside the blues and slow-drag feelings of their city. They generate moments reminiscent of music as various as the Jimmy Giuffre trio's folksiness, 1960s free experimentalism, and that long march to the cemetery uptown or out by the lake. This is a lot of music from three people. The deep tones of Singleton's bass are as evocative in Plunge as in Astral Project, the group with which he is most closely associated. He is centered, bold and eager for adventure, as he was when I first heard him in a New Orleans jam session more than thirty years ago. In McGrain and Green, Singleton has kindred spirits.
Where Y’at Magazine by Kimberly Tubré PlungeDancing on Thin Ice (Immersion Records & Media) What do you get when you take three great and popular musicians and put them in a group together? The answer is simple; you get an unusual trio by the name of Plunge. Plunge consists of James Singleton on bass, Tim Green on saxophone, and Mark McGrain on trombone. Together they bring a musical blend of jazz mixed with a contemporary and euphoric sound. Beautifully put together, this group has released their second album, Dancing on Thin Ice, which comprises the three talents into one great unit. On the album you can find standout tracks like “Opium” and “Life of a Cipher,” but don’t limit yourself to those tracks alone; this entire album is good and fun to listen to. This cross-over jazz album is as pleasing to the ears as it is relaxing to the body. You will definitely be pleased when you pick up your copy of Dancing on Thin Ice. Buy the CD or Digital Download All About Jazz
Dancing on Thin Ice There is a plangorous significance to Dancing on Thin Ice. Built on the symbolic thin ice of New Orleans' ecology, it depicts a city that has bounced back from Katrina but only just. It also tells a broader allegorical tale about the planet's teeter-tottering cultural ecology—hence the cover silhouettes of a mastodon and hammerhead shark, representing the strength of all that lives on earth and in the depths of the ocean, and all that makes jazz strong, pliant and enduring. And Plunge makes all of this drama play out in the proverbial birthplace of jazz. Dancing on Thin Ice has a nervous muscularity. The trombone of Mark McGrain, saxophones of Tim Green and acoustic bass of James Singleton rub uncommon and mighty shoulders, embracing the tonal spectrum and the most challenging timbre of each other's instruments with inspired abandon. McGrain and Singleton ebb and flow around the seemingly ancient wisdom of Green, whose broad, dry and avuncular tone rises like the wing of a giant bird looping on a powerful thermal. His magnetic, bluesy lines clearly inspire McGrain, who makes his trombone speak, and Singleton, who harks back to the days of Jimmy Blanton and Charles Mingus—players who knew how to caress and beat the daylights out of a string of dried camel gut. Throughout the record, an aura of dim, flickering gaslights gives way to the violent buzz of blinding neon as the music rides the edge of an urban blockbuster of power. The music is painterly in an abstract sort of way, wildly suggestive and always in motion. And despite the electronics and otherworldly appendages, it is always mystical while still being down-to-earth bluesy and dancing. Plunge has the pulse of the street, the dives, the coffee houses and the hard road of paying one's dues. "Friday Night at the Top" is a growling celebration of making a few bucks at a jazz joint. "Orion Rising" follows the inebriated ruminations of a night sky with intertwining saxophone and trombone. "One Man's Machine" is a vibrant charge forward, mixing the human speech-like smears and growls of the trombone with a wired electronic environment. "Jugs March In" sings the elegiac dirge of a street marching band, and "Praise Singer" paints the spiritual gathering of a Holy Rolling revival. Dancing on Thin Ice boasts a certain brazen attitude to the end. It's all the stronger because Plunge is out to prove that the cradle of jazz civilization is still swinging. Track listing: Friday Night at the Top; Life of a Cipher; Orion Rising; Luminata No. 257; One Man's Machine; Opium; Dancing on Thin Ice; Missing Mozambique; Jugs March In; The Praise Singer; Skickin' Away. Personnel: Mark McGrain: trombone; Tim Green: saxophones; James Singleton: double-bass.Buy the CD or Digital Download
Plunge
by Tim Madison, MuzikReviews
With Wynton Marsalis stumping the traditional New Orleans swing sound in a manner that could be described as nearly monomaniacal, it's good to hear some music coming out of the Big Easy that is in touch with what's happening today. Plunge keep an ear to the street with their latest release Dancing on Thin Ice, on Immersion Records, and a foot tapping on the sidewalk. This is the sound of the real New Orleans. The trio, featuring Mark McGrain on trombone, Tim Green on Saxophone, and James Singleton on double bass, deliver an album that marries gritty blues with jazz elegance, and stays on the avante edge. The band are surprisingly (in the absence of a drummer) groove focused, illustrated by songs such as the opener, “Friday Night at the Top,” or the effects laden, “Luminata No. 257.” They still find space on the album for an occasional free exploration, such as the track, “Orion Rising”; but the soul of this band is tied to the groove. The band's funky approach and willingness to expand their sonic palette with effects invites comparison to another unappreciated New Orleans based unit: Astral Project, a band that has a connection with Plunge through bassist Singleton. Whether it's through an experimentation with a variety of wah styled effect sounds, or through pure creative improvisation, Plunge grab their listener's attention with each of the eleven tracks on Dancing on Thin Ice, bringing the sound of the modern New Orleans jazz underground to life once again. This is music of the people, not dumbed down for the masses, but spoken with street eloquence. Buy the CD or Digital Download Taking the Plunge by Geraldine Wyckoff In New Orleans, the trombone boasts respect while in many spots around the country jokes about the instrument continue to abound. There are websites devoted solely to ribbing the ‘bone and its purveyors. Here, the trombone remains a mainstay in our lives standing tall in marching bands, brass bands, big bands and traditional jazz ensembles. It bumps up R&B horn sections, steps out on funk and has found a place on the modern jazz scene. We know its potential. On his new disc, Dancing on Thin Ice, Mark McGrain strongly demonstrates all of the trombone’s tonal and rhythmic possibilities. His use of a simple, drumless trio dubbed Plunge — with New Orleans powerhouses saxophonist Tim Green and bassist James Singleton – make these latent variances that much more distinctive. While the material here, which comes entirely from McGrain’s imaginative pen, could certainly be considered creative or free jazz, it holds elements that makes it altogether accessible and musical. Singleton kicks things off laying down the rhythm with a solid bassline. The trombone and sax jump in as a team and even minus the snap of a snare or thump of a bass drum, the tune holds danceable qualities. It progresses to more outer reaches with the solos of the very able Green and McGrain. Following some trombone antics, the piece comes back to groove. Melody plays an important part in McGrain’s writing that opens the door for some great harmonies accomplished by the trombonist and saxophonist with Singleton’s bass melodically adding to the mix. There’s an abundance of playfulness that is accomplished through a variety of means. McGrain’s unexpected leaps between the instrument’s tonal ranges and his tasteful use of the occasional electronics bring smiles. New Orleans can be heard in the strutting attitude and McGrain’s trombone slurs on the purposely precarious title cut, “Dancing on Thin Ice.” The trombonist uses his ax as voice on “The Praise Singer” making the instrumental number sound as if it actually has words. Dancing on Thin Ice is brilliant in its completeness.
Buy the CD or Digital Download OffBeat Magazine, November 2009
Dancing on Thin Ice For the first time in 13 years, trombonist Mark McGrain has convened a group of musicians to record an album under the moniker Plunge. In the mid-‘90s, McGrain, then a Boston resident, helmed Plunge’s 1996 release Falling with Grace, a heady, groove-heavy expedition that garnered significant acclaim in jazz world. This time around, McGrain, now a New Orleans denizen, recruited saxophonist Tim Green and bassist James Singleton to participate in a unique session, one rooted in improvisation and recorded live at McGrain’s home studio with little to no prior rehearsal. Titled Dancing on Thin Ice, the album is exhilarating, post-bop fare suffuse with tight, interlocking melodies and cool, nimble grooves. The disc begins with a mysterious, darting bass line shadowed by a creeping unison melody which splits into a stealthy, twisting solo section. Throughout, the musicians expand on this theme, chasing each other around corners, dipping, diving, and dashing from one spot to the next. Without a drummer, Singleton sets the tone, creating tension with his jaunts and deepening the mood with his cavernous swells and deft countermelodies. McGrain, the ringleader, delivers a stellar performance, scampering, scaling, and surging across the sonic terrain. His haunting squeals and electronic explorations also spur the albums most intense and exciting forays. Green shades the landscape, coloring its contours with his soaring solos, stiff, angular volleys, luminescent tones, and rich, reverberant flourishes. It doesn’t get any cooler than the smooth, spacious rumble “Life of a Cipher,” nor will you ever come across anything more sinister than McGrain’s eerie solo endeavor, “One Man Machine.” The exquisite “Missing Mozambique” glistens with a somber, silvery motif, but the sweeping, carefree stroll “The Praise Singer” seals the set with a sunlit swing. Consider Dancing on Thin Ice a plunge worth taking. Buy the CD or Digital Download Hartford Courant by Richard Kamins Dancing on Thin Ice - Plunge (Immersion Records) - In a year chock-full of great trio recordings, here's a unique group from New Orleans. Plunge, led by trombonist Mark McGrain, also features the great Crescent City bassist James Singleton (Astral Project and a slew of others) and saxophonist Tim Green (Herbie Hancock, the Neville Brothers, Peter Gabriel.) For those expecting typical New Orleans funky jazz, you'll be surprised by the many and varied directions this music goes in. McGrain ,who wrote all the material on this recording (the group's second but first with this lineup) raises the ante by not employing a drummer yet the music, thanks to the muscular playing of Singleton, has, at times, a lot rhythmic excitement. The results remind somewhat of the music clarinetist/saxophonist Jimmy Guiffre made with his Trio in the late 1950s, the one with trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and guitarist Jim Hall. There is subtlety to these pieces, many have a bluesy underpinning and the solos rise and fall easily atop the groove. Green's sweet tone on tenor is sensuous and yearning on "Life of a Cipher" - McGrain goes in a totally different direction with his spot, weaving harmonics, slurs and smears into his lines. "One Man's Machine" is a "solo" piece for the trombonist that utilizes electronics to overdub lines and distort the horn. Nice blues-gospel feel on "Missing Mozambique", with strong solos all around. There's definitely a parade feel on "Jugs March In" but the piece lasts less than a minute. That leads to "The Praise Singer", with melody lines that have the saxophone and trombone weaving around each other amidst the feel of a them by pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Green switches to soprano for "Orion Rising" and his swet-tones phrases fly above the energetic "walking" bass lines.
Buy the CD or Digital Download News & Observer, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NCPlunge - Dancing on Thin Ice (* * * 1/2) By Owen Cordle The sonic potential of Plunge -- trombonist Mark McGrain; tenor, baritone and soprano saxophonist Tim Green; and bassist James Singleton -- is not obvious at first glance. A rather austere lineup, you might say. But factor in the trio's New Orleans roots, and you get a broader message, as expressed in the first word of its new CD, "Dancing on Thin Ice" (Immersion). If the group could march unimpeded by the limited mobility of the acoustic bass, second-line revelers would surely follow. McGrain, who wrote all the tunes, may have had the late bassist and composer Charles Mingus in mind here and there in his compositions and playing, the latter evident where his trombone suggests the melodic fluidity and expression of the late Jimmy Knepper, a Mingus sideman from 1957 to 1962. McGrain incorporates electronic sounds into the mix occasionally, and one piece, "One Man's Machine," is a solo trombone performance with live electronics. Green, who plays mostly tenor, has a light, soulful sound that complements McGrain's. With matched tones and similar rhythmic agility, the horns leave the heavy lifting to Singleton, who capably fills the role of both bassist and percussionist. While McGrain's tunes aren't obvious, there are plenty of familiar elements: blues, gospel, bebop, various dance grooves and melodic interplay. Buy the CD or Digital Download Dancing on Thin Ice by Nelson Eubanks Over the telephone Mark was telling me some of his ideas for a new Plunge album; a trio of James Singleton on stand up bass, Tim Green on soprano, baritone, and tenor saxophone and Mark himself - that is Mark Mcgrain on slide trombone playing music he’d been smoothing out since before any whisper of the Storm. He said they were gonna record in the wooden front room of his house – like the acoustic belly of a small schooner ship – complete with resident white haired colonial French poltergeist. And too, they were going to lay the music down in the Kind of Blue method where you read it and feel it and breathe it out and Blam that’s your take. I wondered about the drums, the drums; no drums in a Big Easy band, no drums in a driving trio in the African heart beat of America? But then I realized and got excited: you see, nothing but good can come from three Jedis of the groove getting together in an old Creole cottage in the 7th ward of New Orleans to make the beautiful sound. You see, I knew for a straight fact this was the iteration of Plunge after Falling With Grace slid into the CMJ top 20 for 3 ˝ months– and too, that Mark had been mining diamond rhythms from the sea shell streets up in his eagle’s nest way back behind the wood shed for some long while. I also knew Tim Green had been all over the great halls and hallowed juke holes of the world soaking up the sound - playing with heavy musicians making some of the great sonic waves of our time. That he is a genius of the light and one of the best saxophone players in New Orleans. That James Singleton is umbilicaled to the source. What does a rhythm city in rebirth sound like flowing through improvisational jazz masters who‘ve witnessed to tell the tale? Is it a beautiful wave of sound? Despite the ache? Because of it? When I got my copy of Dancing on Thin Ice I quickly pushed play and wasn’t disappointed by the burst of fresh melodic ideas. No drums allows Singleton to become the percussive bass beat pulsing through the lower register with lyrical mellow thick slap thumps. No drums and Tim Green plays soft with translucent solos so you can hear his fingers slipping over the sax keys, his breath, his air turning into magic spells. No drums and Mark McGrain drifts and flies and dips and tucks and soars across the sonic space - and I must admit, I’ve found myself listening to solos over and over looking for answers, hearing light, humming the melodies as I wander through my days. To me, Dancing on Thin Ice is an old school, throw back, classic, jazz, album where the secret lays in listening to one song right after the other so you can feel the story shift and change and grow as you grow and shift and change. In these hungry commercial times it’s rare to come across an album with 11 good tracks with range but this is it: the real deal. The sweet sound. Buy the CD or Digital Download Blobcritics.org Dancing on Thin Ice - by Jordan Richardson What’s most captivating about Plunge’s Dancing on Thin Ice is just how precarious the record sounds. The New Orleans trio is certainly an unusual one, utilizing a litany of effects and sounds along with their traditional instruments to compose music that feels edgy, weird and delightfully uncertain. With this record, however, the unusual nature of the group is pushed even further out on to the, yeah, thin ice. Featuring Mark McGrain on trombone, Tim Green on saxophones and James Singleton on bass, Plunge is one of those trios operating with style and bravado beyond all expectations. Stalwarts of the New Orleans music scene, the group’s pedigree for the unusual comes thanks to years of working with the best in the biz. McGrain, for instance, has worked with Michael Ray, Fredy Omar and others, while Green’s impressive resume includes stints performing and recording with the likes of Peter Gabriel and Herbie Hancock. Singleton’s bass has made its way on to records by Astral Project, Juanita Brooks and more. Steadiness is the name of the game for Singleton, as his steadfast bass fills the spaces on tracks like “Life of a Cipher” with a deliciously dark rumba. The song is a slinky one, oozing pure sensuality and strut. Plunge’s playing is couched in that sweet and soulful tradition of New Orleans, borrowing lush and dark elements from brass bands and merchants of groove alike. Their own sound emerges clearly, however, and there’s a thick strand of originality weaving its way through this group’s magical playing. While notes of modern contemporary instrumentalists can be heard at times, these pieces all find their own truth thanks to McGrain’s brilliant and brave composition. More than that, the songs find freedom with the dexterity and cleverness of the players. The anthemic and buoyant stride of “The Praise Singer” lets the horns break through the ice with valour and cheer, while the pensive “Missing Mozambique” takes listeners on a more challenging journey. Creativity really kicks into high gear with the record’s boldest track, the bizarre and funky “One Man’s Machine.” Built on a cloud of electro-industrial noise, the piece reveals Plunge as a trio willing to try anything. All in all, Dancing on Thin Ice is a wonderfully courageous and risky jazz record. It is unsafe in the best of ways and features a group in full command of their art despite operating on some fairly unsteady, complicated ground. Buy the CD or Digital Download Midwest Record Dancing on Thin Ice by Chris Spector PLUNGE/Dancing on Thin Ice: Funky jazz trio from Nawlins follows the local tradition as well as the groove tradition in flying contemporary fashion. Approaching the groove from all angles from cool to hot, this gang knows how to hit the right notes, no matter in which direction they decide to bend them. Much more of a NYNO fusion than Britney Spears hoped to achieve with her restaurant, this is the now sound of cool really doing it’s thing.
Phontas from Jazz & Tzaz: PLUNGE : Dancing On Thin Ice (Immersion) Ένα από τα πιο ωραία και ενδιαφέροντα τζαζ- απροσάρμοστα CD, που ακούσαμε το τελευταίο διάστημα. Τρεις μουσικοί από τη Νέα Ορλεάνη, ή, εν πάση περιπτώσει, που διαμένουν στη Νέα Ορλεάνη, ο τρομπονίστας (και συνθέτης όλων των κομματιών) Mark McGrain, ο σαξοφωνίστας Tim Green και ο κοντραμπασίστας James Singleton (κάπου ακούγονται και ηλεκτρονικά), ενώνουν δυνάμεις, σκέψεις και, κυρίως, φαντασία, ίνα περιγράψουν μία extreme – μέσα στα πλαίσια – πρόταση ηχητική, από την νεορλεανική πηγή. Τα… παράξενα, βεβαίως, μπορεί να εκκινούν από την οργανική σύσταση του γκρουπ (τρομπόνι, σαξ και κοντραμπάσο δεν είναι ό,τι πιο συνηθισμένο), όμως παίρνουν ξεκάθαρο σχήμα και μορφή τη εξελίξει των συνθέσεων. Στο “Life of cipher”– σπάω το κεφάλι μου να θυμηθώ, που έχω ξανακούσει τη βασική μελωδία, που διαπερνά όλο το κομμάτι – έχουμε μια rumba άλλης εποχής, περισσότερο… μελλοντικής, στο “One man’s machine” τα ηλεκτρονικά (με το κάτι σαν vocoder) δίνουν στο κομμάτι μία old-school electro χροιά, τύπου Raymond Scott φερ’ ειπείν, ενώ στο “Missing Mozambique” μία, κατά τα λοιπά, τυπική jazz μπαλάντα μπορεί και ξεφεύγει του… τυπικού, λόγω της απουσίας των κρουστών (απουσιάζουν απ’ όλο το άλμπουμ, βεβαίως), με το κοντραμπάσο του Singleton να διεκπεραιώνει εδώ έναν πλήρη ρυθμικό ρόλο. Γενικώς, με μικρές εκπλήξεις κινείται το “Dancing On Thin Ice”, δείχνοντας πως οι Plunge, πρώτον, δεν είναι τυχαίοι μουσικοί, δεύτερον, γνωρίζουν την παράδοση και τον ηχητικό… αχταρμά της περιοχής, έχοντας τον τρόπο – τρίτον – να ξεπερνούν τα εσκαμμένα, πατώντας πάνω τους. Επαφή: Braithwate & Katz, ann@bkmusicpr.com Φώντας Τρούσας Buy the CD or Digital Download
Plunge
by Tim Madison, MuzikReviews.com
Listening to the 2009 re-issue of Falling From Grace by the band Plunge (a 24 bit remaster of the 1996 original), it's almost as if time hasn't passed at all. The musical concept of the band today – even though the band's current lineup and instrumentation are almost completely different – has remained remarkably the same. The concept: a contemporary and untethered exploration of New Orleans rhythm in an experimental jazz setting. Here the rhythm is propelled not only by Avishai Cohen's bass and Bob Moses's drums, but by some seriously inventive rhythm tuba, courtesy of Marcus Rojas. The rhythmic interplay that results is heavy and athletic; enlivened with shades of modern hip-hop and funk; and provides a low end that will give your subwoofer a workout. With the exception of the free exploration simply titled: “Dog”, the players here never take their eyes off of the bouncing ball, taking a funky, rhythmic approach to the jazz experimentation they deliver in their solos. Band leader and trombonist Mark McGrain seems to have forged his sound deep in the belly of New Orleans, but there isn't anything old fashioned or musty about his playing; he, and the other players keep the sound fresh and modern. Peppered with urban grit and avante zest, the solos here walk the line between sound-as-action freedom – like when Rojas uses an unorthodox technique on the track, “394” to imitate a turntable scratch with his tuba – and blues drenched funky jazz. While most experimental jazz musicians today use rhythm as only a vague point of departure, preferring to build solos through the exploration of tonality, Plunge puts the rhythm first; making it the subject, first and foremost of their experimental forays. “I got ants in my pants and I got to dance” a voice says during the intro to the album's opener, “Wagdanz”. This music will get you tapping your toes and snapping your fingers, all the while putting you on the ship to Sun Ra's spaceways. Buy the CD or Digital Download Reviews of Plunge's 1st CD "Falling with Grace" (Mark McGrain, trombone & alphorn; Avishai Cohen, bass; Marcus Rojas, tuba; Rakalam Bob Moses, drums & percussion)
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by Norman Weinstein INTRO: Norman Weinstein: Buy the CD or Digital Download DownBeat **** (Four Stars) By Dan Ouellette What is it about bass instruments that makes them so
appealing? Part of the allure has to do with the fact that you not only experience
auditory sensations, but your entire body feels the sonic vibrations. Then there are
those twilight hues of blue and indigo that evoke melancholic memories. Whether
embodied in the honks and blats of a bass clarinet or the bass stops of a Hammond B-3, the
lower the pitch the more gutsy and arousing the music seems to get. Buy the CD or Digital Download with Howard Johnson by Dan Ouellette The "Blindfold Test" is a listening test that challenges the featured artist to discuss and identify the music and musicians who performed on selected recordings. The artist is then asked to rate each tune using a 5-star system. No information about the recordings is given to the artist prior to the test. * This Blindfold Test included selections from the
following recordings: While Howard Johnson plays a number of different
instruments, ranging from pennywhistle to baritone saxophone, he's best known as a tuba
maestro. He got his first big break in 1964 with Charles Mingus and later went on to
enjoy a long musical association with Gil Evans. Plunge HJ: "I'm totally mystified by who this is. It reminds me of those guys from Chicago, 8 Bold Souls with Aaron Dodd on tuba. But I can't zero in on who this might be. I like the piece even though I don't care for the multiphonics the tuba player plays at the beginning. But overall, I thought the piece hung together and was performed quite well. The tuba player's groove was really something. Tuba players today are learning that to play tuba bass they don't have to sound like a string bass. This guy definitely works the groove as a tuba thing." Buy the CD or Digital Download by Gene Kalbacher These four guys don't hail from New Orleans (to the best of my knowledge), but they've sho-nuff got the Crescent City spirit. Second-line polyphonics, atmospheric dirges, go-for-the-gonads funk and a tinge of mysticism fairly explode from the grooves. The group's instrumentation, though unusual, is a wholesome, self-sufficient distillation of the city's classic instrumentation: Producer/trombonist Mark McGrain (who penned 12 of the original tunes) squares off with tuba player Marcus Rojas on a low-brass, kick-ass front line; contrabassist Avishai Cohen provides a gritty, down-and-dirty pulse, sometimes offering high-harmonic relief with pizzicato guitaristics in the upper register, and Bob Moses is nothing short of magnificent as he slips, slides, glides ad grooves (check out cuts 10 and 11 in particular). Using a drumkit augmented, it sounds, by African and Caribbean instruments. Moses plays like a man possessed, whooping and hollering at times as the spirit moves him. Dynamic, ever-changing and richly resonant, Falling With Grace is an apt title for this quartet recording featuring four interdependent, indispensable musicians playing live, loud, often fast and always together. Numerous cuts from Falling With Grace are radio-friendly (not least the Nawlins-inspired "Wagdanz"), on their own or in tandem with the above CDs [Various Artists Collector's Choice: Featuring Professor Longhair, Rounder] (or with cuts from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band or Henry Threadgill, with whom tubaist Rojas has worked). Falling With Grace has already charted in CMJ, and even if, like me, you're behind the times, it's not too late to join the parade. Buy the CD or Digital Download by James Marcus This debut from the Boston-based quartet starts off with "Wagdanz," which establishes a blueprint for the remaining tracks. That is, drummer Bob Moses and tuba player Marcus Rojas lay down a funky backbeat, Avishai Cohen adds textural noodling on upright bass, and trombonist Mark McGrain takes a lion's share of the solos. At first the combo is an effective one, bottom-heavy but with plenty of open space between the instruments. After a while, though, it begins to lose its charm. The tunes, most of them written by McGrain, tend to sound like variations on each other, and Rojas must have gotten restless pounding out the same tuba riffs for almost an hour. In addition, the trombonist himself is a solid but uninspiring soloist. Exceptions to the rule: "The Mist," a mood piece on which the two horns share the theme; and "Trick of the Light," which features some of McGrain's sunniest, most relaxed playing. Buy the CD or Digital Download by Marge Hofacre Boston is home to perhaps the most fertile jazz scene in present-day America, and Accurate Records is the current ruler of the roost. Accurate consistently provides their listeners with the cream of Beantown's fiery jazz and experimental music scene, and this is one of their best recent releases. In Plunge, a seasoned jazz veteran is joined by three
of the hottest young stars of the music; between them they produce music that crosses the
spectrum of jazz history and flies on to new territory. Former Gary Burton/Pat
Metheny sideman and occasional leader Bob Moses provides a tight but flexible drum base
for trombonist Mark McGrain, tuba prodigy Marcus Rojas and upright bass Wagdanz is a New Orleans-style romp that recalls the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Rojas oompahs with cheerful abandon, sandwiched between McGrain's 'bone wailing and Moses' martial rhythms, while Cohen adds in some percussive high-range pizzicato work. 394 begins with near-gospel strains from the two horns, then Rojas weaves a complicated web of funky tuba underneath the proceedings. On Beneath the Wheel the tubaist squeals in the highest range of the big horn, then plummets down to a bass crash before Moses fires up the groove. Cohen achieves an almost oud-like sound on the Middle Eastern-flavored Just Like Alice, and on Dog Rojas blasts through a distortion pedal to build a rough wall of sound that would make Hendrix proud. Moses gets to take the spotlight on a couple of occasions, most notably the percussion feature Rafael's Drum/H.S.L.E., and McGrain simply excels throughout. Overall, the musicianship in Plunge is top of the line, and the compositions and arrangements are kept interesting without becoming too abstract to be listenable. Rojas in particular has the potential to become a major force in future jazz, and is already headed well down that path; it occurs to me that this is the third review I've done this month that Rojas was involved with. But all of these gentlemen are second to none in their talent and adventurous spirits. Plunge won't quite be everyone's bag, but it's well worth a listen in order to expand your musical horizons. Buy the CD or Digital Download by Sam Prestianni Though far from the norm, it's not uncommon these days to find an occasional trombone or tuba beefing up the bottom-end of a creative jazz combo. But Plunge may be the first tuba/'bone/bouble bass/drum unit to drop such monster rhythms via a behemoth configuration. As the instrumentation and group name imply, Plunge dives headlong into the rare groove vortex. Led by trombonist/composer Mark McGrain, and featuring former Henry Threadgill tubist Marcus Rojas, the quartet investigates a number of groove possibilities from the hip-shaking lead track "Wagdanz" to the mood-thick "Running, Running." The kicked-back syncopation of "Trick of the Light" suggests undulating island breezes a la Ritual Trio's "Another Kind of Groove." The most adventurous tune, "Dog," comes full-on as McGrain douses his otherwise straight horn with flanger and wah-wah effects, invoking near-metal guitar histrionics. Melodically eloquent and evenly balanced, Plunge imbues fresh dimensions into low-end articulation. Buy the CD or Digital Download MODERN DRUMMER ****1/2 (Four 1/2 Stars) by Robin Tolleson Plunge delivers a wild assortment of gutbucket street
funk and atmospheric slants that put an emphasis on Bob Moses' traps, bells, rattles, and
hand drums. Mark McGrain is a daring trombonist, but to be commended even more is
his vision of this tonally unique group - a deep, earthy sound with the combination of
tuba, bass, and bone. They're packed tight into the low end of the sound spectrum,
but each instrument comes through distinctly. This gives Moses more of the high end
to stand out in, and he sparkles on each cut. Buy the CD or Digital Download by Peter L. Herb I've always loved the blatt! of low-end horns, and this trombone- and tuba-driven avant-jazz quartet can wail. From funk to New Orleans jazz to pensive ballads, Plunge - Mark McGrain, Marcus Rojas, drummer/percussionist Bob Moses, and double-bassist Avishai Cohen - delivers a sonic feast with all the fixings. Fast tunes are eminently danceable, tracks so hot their grooves stick in your head hours later; slower tunes are similarly tasty, just a little more ruminative. Check out Plunge's honkin' horn harmonies and slappin' 'n' popin' tuba! Buy the CD or Digital Download by Martin Johnson Cover caption: "PLUNGE uproot(s) jazz - have trombone, will travel" from September's picks: Bass (end) is the place . . . It's hard to imagine, but Plunge, a quartet featuring such
stellar players as Bob Moses, Marcus Rojas and Avisha Cohen and the absolutely unique
lineup of, respectively, drums, tuba, bass and leader Mark McGrain's trombone, got started
by accident. Buy the CD or Digital Download
Plunge -
Fall With Grace: A Review
Plunge (plunj) v. 1. To thrust or throw forcefully into a substance or place. 2. To cast suddenly, violently, or deeply into a given state or situation. 3. An alternative, groove driven, jazz quartet featuring trombone and alphorn, tuba, double bass, drums and percussion. If you picked 3, you're on the money! With their debut album, Falling With Grace, Plunge cast improvisatory music into a new state. The CD is a melding of the influences of each member, and the final creation will both satify and challenge the listener. The instrumentation -- trombone, alphorn, tuba, double bass and percussion -- takes the listener by surprise. Both Mark McGrain and Marcus Rojas explore the wide variety of timbres offered by their instruments. Avishai Cohen takes the double bass through many different uses -- solo, bass line, and percussion, while the groove hangs together through the hands and feet of Bob Moses. Before listening to the CD, I visited their web site to get a feel for what was in store. The site offers soundbites of the CD, as well as upcoming performance dates and general bios of the group. However, nothing prepared me for the sounds once the CD started. The opening track, Wagdanz, pulls the listener into the music, giving just a taste of things to come. A New Orleans beat and bass groove starts, then muted trombone takes the melody. Mark's style is smooth and polished, with just enough rough edges to keep it from sounding canned. Every track on the CD pulls in a variety of influences, but like a great painting, you have to look very hard to find the individual parts. The overwhelming aspect of this album is that it is an ensemble performance, not four soloists going at the music in the same room. You can hear and feel the interaction of the musicians as they work through the changes of each chart, each player feeding on the work of the others. A great example is in 394 where the solo line and the bass line intertwine to the point of asking, "am I playing bass or are YOU? As for the "out-there" component -- I would describe this CD as X-Files meets jazz. Hard edged, with tons of New Orleans and hip-hop influence. Check the opening of Beneath the Wheel. That's attitude. Trying to describe the contents of this CD is almost like trying to tell what a banana tastes like -- the best way to handle either question is to say "here ya go -- try a taste!" As for a recommendation -- buy it! It's worth the money, and if you're looking for some challenging listening, this is it! Now, is this a CD I'd listen to every day? Nope. But it is surprising -- it seems to show up more and more in my CD player... Buy the CD or Digital Download THE BOSTON PHOENIX *** (Three Stars) by Richard C. Walls Plunge, FALLING WITH GRACE (Accurate). The most
striking thing about Plunge's debut is the way the music knocks down expectations set up
by the group's instrumentation - leader and main composer Mark McGrain on trombone (and
allegedly alphorn at some point), Marcus Rojas on tuba, Avishai Cohen on bass, and Bob
Moses on drums, percussion, and voice. The front-line implies a certain gravitas,
but the one word to sum up Plunge would be nimble. Or maybe frolicking. Buy the CD or Digital Download ORLANDO SENTINEL ***** (Five Stars) by Parry Gettelman Plunge, Falling With Grace ( Accurate) Plunge is as
original as its configuration - trombone, tuba, double bass and drums. Buy the CD or Digital Download by D.H. Krasnow Finally, a marching band you can sit down to! When Plunge hews too closely to the Dirty Dozen's update of New Orleans tradition, it shows itself merely a skillful imitator. Tubist Marcus Rojas, a veteran of Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus, is deft and light on his lumbering instrument and leader Mark McGrain's bluesy trombone hits the right notes. But the knockout punch of the true marching outfits lands only a glancing blow in "Wagdanz" or "394." As Falling With Grace edges away from the Crescent City towards a more modern, contemplative jazz - similar in feel to Chicago's Eight Bold Souls, say - it finds its own theme. Bob Moses's Cuban-inflected percussion offers a neat counterpoint with Avishai Cohen's staccato bass compensation on the backbeat. As in Eight Bold Souls, most of the action occurs on the deep end. The top strings of the bass are the highest notes. Echoing horns call longingly from faraway mountains, on the final "Running, Running" McGrain blows the obscure Swiss alphorn. By this point they've come a long way from the bayou. Buy the CD or Digital Download by Will Smith Plunge, a quartet led by Boston-area trombonist Mark McGrain, blends jazz, funk, Caribbean and New Orleans gutbucket elements in a most rewarding and enjoyable musical stew on "Falling With Grace" (Accurate AC-5016). With McGrain are Marcus Rojas, tuba; Avishai Cohen, bass' and Bob Moses, drums. Buy the CD or Digital Download by Marni Davis Plunge, I've been told, started their work together
playing Zep tunes. Little chance of mistaking them for a tribute band, though, as
it's difficult to do a Jimmy Page impersonation when you've got a tuba in your lap.
I shit you not: "Communication Breakdown" on trombone, tuba, double bass and
drums. Trombone, having the highest register of the four instruments, would take the
melody and all else would be bass and percussion groove. Imagine hard rock music
played by a low-end Dixieland jazz quartet. Pretty brilliant. Buy the CD or Digital Download by John Noyd Kicking off their new album Falling With Grace with voodoo grooves from deep within the bayou, the four-member crew known as Plunge takes the unlikely combination of tuba, bass, drums and trombone and creates microscopic worlds that go from funky Dixieland struts to subtle introspections. Musicians Mark McGrain, Bob Moses, Marcus Rojas and Avishai Cohen bob and weave polyrhythmic delights that revel in restless poetry, digging deep and riding high on a river of riffs that flows over the listener. With credentials that range from Henry Threadgill to Gary Burton, each player expands the limits of his instrument. Beyond Cohen's deftness in the bass' upper register, it is Rojas' tuba that not only does the expected bellows and belches but also swishes, creating a sound much like hip-hop scratches. While main composer and trombonist McGrain carries off most of the melodies, it is the inspired creations of percussionist Moses that propels this ensemble beyond novelty into a jazz super-nova. Buy the CD or Digital Download by Dan Willging Plunge is an explosive quartet that's a cross between a downsized New Orleans brass band and an avant-garde jazz ensemble you'd find in Greenwich Village. The New Orleans aspect enters in as Marcus Rojas' pumping tuba playing could easily fit in any Crescent City brass band while Bob Moses' drumming provides a funky, behind-the-beat delivery. But the kicker is that the highest frequency instrument is, oddly enough, a trombone. Plunge drives ahead with catchy, hip-hop sounds wrapped in a deep, heavy groove. The feel is often airy, then slowly softens for a dazzling, almost tribal, drum solo. Occasionally, abstract, cacophonic voice-overs seize control which are delightfully bizarre.Buy the CD or Digital Download BLUESWIRE ***1/2 (three 1/2 Stars) by Frank-John Hadley "These four Bostonians on trombone, tuba, string bass, and drums are kin to a funk-loving New Orleans brass band. But a carful listen reveals their thirst for creativity is greater than anyone who paraded on the [New Orleans Jazz Heritage Festival] Fairgrounds this year. Drummer Bob Moses, in fact, can go one-on-one with any of the Big Easy groove masters."
RAPPORT **** (Four Stars) by L.M. Plunge into the realm of the unforeseen when you drop
this jazz number down. Right off, the back cover photo gives you some indication of
what is to come: four youngish kids in rapper attire, against the backdrop of a
graffiti-smeared wall. The jacket, too, will give you a clue: among the instruments
is . . . an alphorn? Buy the CD or Digital Download Fan Review (Recieved via Internet) Donn Schaefer (Iowa City) "About a month ago I heard a review of your album on NPR. They played a few cuts and talked about the group. MAN O' MAN was the music GOOD!!! It made me tap the gas and brake pedals. Romping! After a nearly fatal trip, I sat out in the parking lot of WalMart until the review was done. Things always come up (computer/trombone/girlfriend) which take my money before I spend it on CD's. This one would be an exception." Buy the CD or Digital Download Debut set for this unusual Boston-area quartet - comprising trombone, tuba, bass, and drums - is notable for its propulsive, progressive approach and relentless rhythmic base. Led by trombonist/producer/principal composer Mark McGrain, the combo is rooted in the sharp beats of genre-bending percussionist Bob Moses and often resembles the chugging progressivism of Henry Threadgill (for whom tubist Marcus Rojas has played). Standout cuts include the sweet, naive melody of "Trick Of The Light," the throbbing jazz funk of "Wagdanz," the syncopated work-song muscularity of "Beneath The Wheel," the wistful brass interplay of "The Mist," and the restless, rolling soundscape of "11:11."
Michael Dunford, Rounder Records Group Subject: sometimes good things happen...Every once in awhile a record will lay quietly in the shadows,building up momentum, preparing to pounce forward on an unsuspecting public. We've got a humble little record in just that situation... Accurate release ACRE 5016, Plunge, "Falling With Grace" has been steadily building quite a little name for itself in press and radio. Here are some of the highlights: * Currently #15 on the CMJ Jazz Chart, marking 10 weeks of continuous presence on the chart -- the lowest it's reached has been #18. * Receiving strong airplay on both College and NPR stations, "Falling With Grace" has maintained Top Ten and heavy rotation in 1/3rd of the U.S. jazz radio market for 9 continuous weeks. * Currently being featured on an NPR/PRI Monitor Radio review as "the freshest album of its type this year" by critic Norman Weinstein. * Some cross-over to acid-jazz and funk audiences, sharing a wider market with the likes of Medeski, Martin and Wood, Charlie Hunter, and dare I say it....Phish... The band is talking with several booking agencies and expect to be touring this fall. In the meantime, let's take advantage of the incredible buzz that is flowing in around Plunge!
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