Authority Melts From Me [CD]

Authority Melts from Me' is the fascinating album from Bobby Avey, praised by the New Yorker magazine as "a young pianist of invention and refinement." It pays homage to the Haitian Revolution and features the immense talents of saxophonist Miguel Zenon and guitarist Ben Monder.

Winner of the 2011 Thelonious Monk Competition for composition, Avey also received the 2011 "New Jazz Works: Commissioning and Ensemble Development Grant" from Chamber Music America. This enabled Avey to travel to Haiti to immerse himself in the music and rhythms of Vodou drumming ensembles from Port au Prince and the small village of Soukri.

In Soukri, Avey attended and documented the ensemble's Vodou Ceremony and following a period of careful transcription and analysis, he composed an hour-long suite utilising the rhythms and concepts found in these two drumming ensembles.

Personnel: Bobby Avey (piano), Miguel Zenon (alto saxophone), Ben Monder (guitar), Thomson Kneeland double bass), Jordan Perlson (drums)