Reviews

Denis DiBlasio/Dave Mancini: Salt Peanuts
(Sons of Sound SSPCD006)

"DiBlasio does indeed blaze. The former Maynard Ferguson baritonist jumps in with both feet and doesn’t let up until the end. Lengthy lines agilely negotiating the entire range of his normally cumbersome horn set the pace for the up-tunes, several of which are taken at super-human tempos… effortlessly generate seamless improvisations at a breakneck speed with never a stumble… bassist Frank Pullara and co-leader/drummer Dave Mancini provide the rock-solid underpinnings and challenging accompaniment such explosive excursions require… Recorded live to four track without overdubs or edits and with mostly one take per tune, the CD achieves its makers’ hoped-for result of reproducing the ambiance of a live concert performance." [read the review]
— Cadence, May 2001

"The concept behind Salt Peanuts was to record pure jazz… Six jazz standards and two Denis DiBlasio originals make up this fifty-eight minute cooking session… The disc gets underway with a workout on the popular jam session tune “Secret Love.” The tempo hovers around 310 beats per minute. Great stuff!… Mancini and Bassist Frank Pullara lock in beautifully as if they were related… You really get the feeling that you’re in a nightclub on this one… A trio version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Salt Peanuts” burns at about 340 beats per minute as you may have expected. This assault on rhythm changes takes us in quite a number of directions… Denis and Dave do some trading that is dynamite… Denis DiBlasio and Dave Mancini have reached and surpassed their goals on this project. Each member of the ensemble plays in a non-pretentious way. In fact, that reckless abandon otherwise known as creative expression really makes you feel like you were there, at the session. Enjoy the chemistry and the spontaneity of this latest Denis DiBlasio/Dave Mancini collaboration!" [read the review]
— Saxophone Journal, May/June 2001