David White
jazz guitar | composition
Recordings
​...as Big Neighborhood
...as Trio
...as Quintet (w/George Garzone & Tim Armacost)
...as Quintet (w/Valery Ponomarev & Tim Armacost)
11:11
From Dan McCleneghan in All About Jazz:
"Big Neighborhood's sound seems to walk streets similar to those frequented by Chick Corea's Elektric Band, with a looser and more spontaneous swagger in its step. This is a cohesive blend of glowing guitar (with a bit of Bill Frisell folksiness creeping in on occasion) with an ebullient, usually odd-meter bass/drum rhythm team and a succinct alto sax (weaving in and out of the mix; not standing out in front of it) working a precision versus freedom groove about as skillfully and engagingly as it can be done. The influences are varied—calypso, modern jazz, 20th Century classical, reggae, '70s rock—all mixed together by Big Neighborhood into a fresh, forward-leaning sonic brew."
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Big Neighborhood's adventurous double album exploring the edges of contrapuntal, odd-metered, ultra modern jazz featuring guitar synth and alto sax anchored by an indomitable and rock-solid rhythm section.
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Personnel:​
Chris Fagan (alto)
Doug Miller (bass)
Phil Parisot (drums)
David White (guitar)
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Neighbors
From Scott Yanow on All Music Guide:
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"Throughout the set, Big Neighborhood make their unusual playing with time and rhythms sound second-nature and logical. Guitarist David White is often the lead voice and the key soloist, although altoist Chris Fagan has a bright sound and a strong improvising style. The playing of bassist Miller and drummer Phil Parisot is always stimulating and strongly interactive. This group definitely has its own sound and, although connected to the jazz tradition, its playing and improvising are quite original. It may take several listens to get used to Big Neighborhood's unusual approach, but it is worth the time. This is an excellent example of early-21st century acoustic jazz."
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Big Neighborhood's debut recording was nominated for a Grammy -- a completely unexpected outcome for a Seattle-based working band exploring multi-voice arrangements, odd meters, and diverse influences from post-bop to modern classical to Frank Zappa.
Personnel:​
Chris Fagan (alto)
Doug Miller (bass)
Phil Parisot (drums)
David White (guitar)
Words and Music
From Fred Bouchard's album liner notes:
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"I found the trio's continuously unfolding narratives increasingly fascinating, the more so since I was unable to pin each piece down to a formula. In fact, I never heard these tracks the same way twice."
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David's first trio project on a major label features Jeff Ballard on drums (Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny, many others) and John Lockwood on bass (George Garzone, Gary Burton, many others). Originally shopped to Blue Note, the famous label declined saying it sounded "too much like John Scofield". Backhanded compliment notwithstanding, you can judge for yourself any resemblance from this edgy trio that takes on arrangements of a Hindemith sonata and Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean".
Personnel:​
Jeff Ballard (drums)
John Lockwood (bass)
David White (guitar)
Double Double
From the review by Steve Loewy on All Music:
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"The strengths of this album come from guitarist David White's interesting tunes and arrangements and the outstanding solos of saxophonist George Garzone, who can make any group sound exciting...The saxophonist twists and stretches notes like putty, and even on soprano, manages to sound unique and fresh. Armacost is best when wrestling with Garzone, which leads to some powerful moments..."
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David's second recording for CIMP Records, a live album from the Spirit Room. Garzone and Armacost were ferocious, backed by the incredible John Lockwood on bass and the steady Joris Dudli on drums. Says David: "hearing how free George played on this date (on every date, actually) changed my life.".
Personnel:​
Tim Armacost (tenor)
Joris Dudli (drums)
George Garzone (tenor)
John Lockwood (bass)
David White (guitar)
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Object Relations
From the album liner notes by Bob Rusch:
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"...because David can’t get some things out of his craw which go on to shape and distinguish his music...brings this original vitality to a genre sorely in need of something other than retreads."
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The first live album in the CIMP "Spirit Room" where the spirit moved this adventurous music forward through odd meters and complex chord changes. This album features an acoustic guitar track and a quirky, shifting tempo version of Lennon and McCartney's "Lovely Rita". Taken together, this album is a good example of David's stretching the boundaries of bebop based modern jazz 20 years before it became fashionable and commonplace to do so. This pioneering effort created a lot of fertile soil.
Personnel:​
Tim Armacost (tenor)
Shingo Okudaira (drums)
Valery Ponomarev (trumpet)
Calvin Hill (bass)
David White (guitar)
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Live performance of "Woman Holding Balance" from the recording date.
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All Stories Are True
David's first date for Cadence with his NYC based band featuring Valery Ponomarev (Art Blakey), Victor Jones (Joanne Brackeen), the indomitable Calvin Hill and David's long time and inspirational tenor player and friend Tim Armacost.
Personnel:​
Tim Armacost (tenor)
Victor Jones (drums)
Valery Ponomarev (trumpet)
Calvin Hill (bass)
David White (guitar
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