Search - Scott Colley :: Empire

Searching through music by Scott Colley can be overwhelming. Surely for the bassist's talent-it's not by coincidence that all the great musicians today seek him out for his rhythm-because it's not easy to find such an eclectic character with a unique sound, a certain timing, an innate sense of swing, and an improvisational vision that's unparalleled. But it's also true that the force behind Colley is also sought elsewhere, because the greatness of this bassist from Los Angeles is in his ability to be an artist who's completely at the service of his art. A composer, band leader and arranger, Colley is an artist that loves to explore the possibilities of music above and beyond the genre and the forms: music at the service of music. With "Empire" (the second album Colley records for CAM Jazz, after the success of his "Architect of the Silent Moment"), Colley approaches the highest peak of his production. The narrative sense, the poetic language, the common breadth bestowed upon the essence of his art, are what make this album a fascinating work, and in which a wealth of nuances is fully performed. Accomplice in one of the best line-ups imaginable today, Colley enhances the all-absorbing aesthetic that Bill Frisell brings out with his guitar, all the magic of that instrument, giving melodic lines to the intense voice of Ralph Alessi, and knowing how to make full use of Craig Taborn's piano and Brian Blade's genius-a drummer able to transform into gold all the music with which he comes into contact.