[Harp-L] G. Maret.....

["Tom Ellis" <tomsmics@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Those who missed his show at the Dallas/SPAH convention missed a remarkable performance--his playing was spot on, and the setting, with a great rhythm section and pianist, provided him ample room to improvise with controlled abandon.  At the time, Dapp Theory was high on his list, and he strongly recommended it to me. I love it.  I also love the ensemble playing on the Charlie Hunter CD, and his beautiful work with Little Jimmy Scott.  In my opinion, there are only a few chromatic players who can improvise at his level--Mike Turk comes to mind immediately--but in a way Gregoire is heading off in another direction, integrating the chromatic into new voicings in jazz.  I would really like to hear him cut across the musical boundaries with Cassandra Wilson.  And as for Michalek's comment he "doesn't play with personality"--hogwash.  For a guy to play at this level, with the calibre of musicians he plays with, and only be in his late twenties says plenty about his mastery of creating his own, unique voice.  TOM ELLIS/Tom's Mics