Home » Jazz News » Recording

17

Chad Wackerman: Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations - Zappa Drummer Releases New CD Featuring Guitar Legend Allan Holdsworth.

Source:

Sign in to view read count
"Chad Wackerman has a beautiful ear for harmonies and melodies that lets your inner musician soar, and with  'Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations' it comes together and expresses his potential as an artist. All the musicians who play on this record are the inspired elite and on this CD they create a magnificent and ethereal listening experience." —Steve Vai

Four masters of musical improvisation collaborate on the latest release from esteemed drummer Chad Wackerman. Known for his work with Frank Zappa, Allan Holdsworth and James Taylor, Wackerman blurs the line between composed and improvised pieces on Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations. The featured musicians: guitar legend Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jimmy Johnson and keyboard player Jim Cox, have all developed a unique musical telepathy with Wackerman over decades, which is allowed to shine on this inventive, adventurous CD.

Ranging from atmospheric to edgy, the music on Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations showcases four creative musicians at the height of their musical powers. Wackerman has structured the CD so that the interplay between the performers is ever-present. Many of the improvised pieces sound like fully formed compositions, while the written pieces provide ample opportunities for spontaneous flow. Listen to the sparks fly as musical bonds deepen on this incredible new CD.

“Chad Wackerman's “Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations" is a drum-dream-of-a-sounding album. Recorded over a span of time covering Chad's residencies in both Australia and California, the CD captures this young veteran's drumming abilities at their collective peak, in some of the highest-fi I can imagine. This is what a drum set should sound like, and this is what great drumming should sound like, too. The band is a dream: Allan Holdsworth, Jimmy Johnson and Jim Cox. Anyone interested in rhythm, drumming, audio, cutting-edge writing and collective improvisation should get this album. Bravo, Chad and musicians, I love this album." —Peter Erskine

About Chad Wackerman

A phenomenally skilled jazz and rock drummer, Chad's professional career began in 1978 with the Bill Watrous band. Since then he has amassed a remarkable body of work including a seven-year association with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured the USA and Europe and recorded 26 albums including the London Symphony recordings.

He has also recorded 6 albums and toured with guitar legend Allan Holdsworth, played on the 'One Voice' album and video with Barbra Streisand, and recorded albums and toured with artists as diverse as Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Men At Work, Ed Mann, Albert Lee, Colin Hay, Dweezil Zappa, Pasqua/Holdsworth/Haslip/Wackerman Group, Terry Bozzio, Carl Verheyen and David Garfield.

Chad has also toured with James Taylor, John Patitucci, Joe Sample, Banned From Utopia and The World Drummers Ensemble (Bill Bruford, Luis Conte, Dou Dou Ndiaye Rose and Chad Wackerman).

As a band leader and composer Chad has five critically acclaimed CDs: 'Forty Reasons', 'The View', 'Scream', 'Legs Eleven' and his latest release, Dreams Nightmares and Improvisations. Chad has written music for the television show 'The Dennis Miller Show', as well as composing music for Allan Holdsworth's 'Secrets', 'Wardenclyffe Tower' and 'Sixteen Men of Tain' CDs. His trio has a performance DVD, 'Hits Live'.

Chad's drumming combines the power and conviction of rock with the sensitivity and finesse of jazz. His playing is remarkably free of predictable patterns and licks, relying instead on invention and interplay with the musicians around him.

Purchase

Comments

Tags

News

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.