The eclectic pianist/composer DAVID LOPATO will debut his new quintet,
GLOBAL COOLANT at KITANO JAZZ.
Lopato, recipient of multiple composition and performance grants from the NEA, NYFA, Meet The Composer et al, has toured his own compositions from solo piano to 10-piece ensemble internationally for three decades. He has worked with Dave Liebman, Dewey Redman, Joe Lovano, Wadada Leo Smith, Ray Anderson, Steve Gorn Mark Helias et al, and has recorded his own compositions on the Lumina, Enemy, Unity and Global Coolant labels.
This new quintet will incorporate some of his Asian influenced music into the program, a prologue to the release of his new gamelan-inspired large ensemble CD “Gendhing for a Spirit Rising” this September. Not to be missed!
"an inventive and resourceful pianist…his compositions never faltering for a second”
The New York Times
“Lopato’s stylistic range and technique are prodigious”
Downbeat Magazine
Critical praise for the solo piano recording "Many Moons" (Global Coolant 01):
“Many Moons is an amazingly varied retrospective of sorts of David Lopato’s compositions of the past three decades. The album is so eclectic that it also provides an overview of many of the facets of solo jazz piano. From stride to blues, bebop, bluegrass, avant-garde improvisation, prepared piano, and ballads, the common thread that connects the music is a love of textural and harmonic richness and a very personal approach to the creation of improvised music. …An extraordinary album.”
Mainly Piano.com
“Lopato’s performances are as impressive and strikingly individual as his compositions, as demonstrated on “The Big Bad Wolf Ain’t So Bad After All”, a rollicking and striding tour de force performance suggesting influences from Tatum and Ellington.”
Cadence Magazine
“Lopato's compositions and performances display an inner logic, whether conjuring Willie "The Lion" Smith or James P. Johnson on the fascinating "The Big Bad Wolf Ain't So Bad After All," or swimming in the murky and perilous waters of artists like John Cage and Conlon Nancarrow ("Piano Roll"). …Lopato's music exudes an inextinguishable spirit of optimism and hope”
All About Jazz
