Welcome to Squidco!
Edit Your Shopping Cart

   Squidco Home
   About Squidco
   My Account
      Log Out
   Checkout

   Artist List
   Label List
   eMail List
   Rewards
   Staff Picks
   Current Email Update
   Used Albums
   Top Sellers
   Gift Certificates
   The Squidco Blog
   Contact Us

Release Formats    ∇
Featured Genres    ∇
Instrumental Forms    ∇
Orchestration    ∇
Miscellaneous    ∇




The Squid's Ear Magazine
Squidco Freedom Sale! July 3-6, Save 10% to 15% on all new items!


Cleaver, Gerald / Devin Gray
27 Licks

Cleaver, Gerald / Devin Gray: 27 Licks (Rataplan Records)

Drummer Gerald Cleaver's significance in NY free jazz can't be understated, and his influence and work with younger generation drummer Devin Gray as a teacher, friend and associate has shaped Gray's work, as heard here in this monumental encounter between the two drummers, a duet that started many years before, playing in the streets of NYC, and now properly captured in the studio.
 

Price: $10.75
Price Was: $11.95
Squidco Freedom Sale



Quantity:

Out of Stock
Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Gerald Cleaver-drums, percussion

Devin Gray-drums, percussion


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.



Label: Rataplan Records
Catalog ID: RR007
Squidco Product Code: 30548

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardstock Gatefold sleeve in a clear plastic sleeve
Recorded at Douglass Recording in Brooklyn, New York, on December 8th, 2019, by Juanma Trujillo.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"This duo album is the latest recording by two drummers who have played and recorded together many times since they first met at the Banff Workshop in 2006. Cleaver was teaching, Gray was a student. Gerald Cleaver (b.1963) is one of the most respected drummers on the free scene, while Devin Gray, now in his mid 30's, has become a top-call drummer in New York. Their CD (also available from Devin Gray's Bandcamp) consists of eight tracks. Seven of them are quite short, whereas the eighth and final track is much longer, just under 21 mins. Each of the short tracks has a particular focus: the opening track, 27 Licks, presents a gentle conversation between the two drummers; F. Train Drain leads off with what sounds like a Chinese gong before building up to an intense climax with both drummers; Headed to Barbes pays tribute to a leading Brooklyn club with drums interacting with a cymbal wash; Love Conquers Hate presents a series of natural sounds as if one was walking through aforest; One for Bernie is presumably a tribute to Bernie Sanders and is appropriately challenging with sharp metallic sounds; The Long Roll Ahead proceeds unsurprisingly through a series drum rolls contrasting with a repeated pattern on the cymbals; Shenanigans is also quite challenging in its initial use of cymbals before settling down to a nice groove on the drums. The long track, Headbangers, has much more of a narrative going through a series of episodes and a lot of call-and-response between the two drummers. Gray has spoken eloquently about his gratitude to Cleaver: "It's honestly really hard for me to imagine where I would be in my life right now if I hadn't met Gerald in the way we did so many years ago." It may seem paradoxical, but their sense of fellowship and common purpose has produced an album to sit back and to enjoy in a relaxed manner, perhaps with a beer or a glass of wine..."-Tony Dudley-Evans, londonjazznews.com


Artist Biographies

"Gerald Cleaver (born May 4, 1963) is an African-American jazz drummer from Detroit, Michigan. Cleaver's father is drummer John Cleaver Jr., originally from Springfield, Ohio, and his mother was from Greenwood, Mississippi. Gerald had six older siblings. Cleaver joined the jazz faculty at the University of Michigan in 1995. He has performed or recorded with Joe Morris, Mat Maneri, Roscoe Mitchell, Miroslav Vitous, Michael Formanek, Tomasz Sta ko, Franck Amsallem and others.

Under the name Veil of Names, Cleaver released an album called Adjust on the Fresh Sounds New Talent label in 2001. It featured Maneri, Ben Monder, Andrew Bishop, Craig Taborn and Reid Anderson and was a Best Debut Recording Nominee by the Jazz Journalists Association. Cleaver currently leads the groups Uncle June, Black Host, Violet Hour and NiMbNl as well as working as a sideman with many different artists."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Cleaver_(musician))
7/1/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"An artist interested in multiple musical directions and one who strives for quality and sincerity in his work. His exciting energy has compelled him towards many different musical directions and projects. Considered by his contemporaries as cutting edge, Gray shows promise as an artist that will not only move the music forward, but one who will share his unique musical vision with the world of music.

Devin Gray's fresh approach to modern drumming has enabled him to play with many of America's great jazz musicians. He has performed and recorded with innovative musicians of contrasting styles and backgrounds such as: David Liebman, Tony Malaby, Gary Thomas, Ingrid Jensen, Dave Burrell, Dave Ballou, Michael Formanek, Nate Wooley, Stephan Crump, George Garzone, Chris Speed, Drew Gress, Sam Rivers, Ralph Alessi, John O'Gallagher, Ellery Eskelin, Kris Davis, Ted Rosenthal, Matt Mitchell, Uri Caine, Andrew D'Angelo, Vardan Ovsepian, Bill McHenry as well as many others.

Devin has been fortunate to perform in many places around the globe and continues to make peace with his audiences. He is a top call young drummer in many modern jazz circles in New York City as well as multiple cities on the East Coast of America. Current leader projects include two quartets: "Dirigo Rataplan" featuring Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou, and Michael Formanek, and "RelativE ResonancE" featuring Chris Speed, Kris Davis, and Chris Tordini. He is currently living, playing, and composing in Brooklyn, New York."

-http://devingraymusic.com/about (Devin Gray Website)
7/1/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. 27 Licks 03:40

2. F Train Drain 04:06

3. Headed to Barbes 02:44

4. Love Conquers Hate 04:07

5. One for Bernie 02:53

6. The Long Roll Ahead 03:41

7. Shenanigans 01:39

8. Headbangers 20:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Percussion & Drums
Duo Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items

Search for other titles on the label:
Rataplan Records.

Recommended & Related Releases:
Carter, Daniel / Matthew Ship / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 2 [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD]
(577 Records)
The 2nd of two studio albums from the quartet of Daniel Carter on saxophone & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums, recordings from the same sessions as the 1st volume with five shorter works, as the long-time collaborators and friends show their nearly telepathic rapport in adventurous and masterful modern jazz.
Gray, Devin / Ingrid Laubrock / Cory Smythe
Cloudsounds Trio
(Rataplan Records)
NY drummer Devin Gray provides the compositions for this EP with his Cloudsounds trio of Ingrid Laubrock performing on tenor and soprano saxophones and Corey Smythe on piano, the sophisticated structures leading the improvisers into almost chamber jazz territory, with a light playfulness and warm interaction, Gray's intriguing rhythms shifting and propelling their music.
Gray, Devin / Jessica Pavone / Wendy Eisenberg
Universal Dwellings
(Rataplan Records)
A uniquely voiced free improv trio of strings and drums from the New York City trio of violinist Jessica Pavone, guitarist Wendy Eisenberg and drummer Devin Gray, each a distinctive leader in their own right who use their instruments in unusual and technically superb ways, here in a concise set of collective improvisations of an edgy and exploratory style.
Gray, Devin / Dave Ballou / Ryan Ferreira
Socialytics
(Rataplan Records)
Socialytics signifies analysis of social media to reach out for human interaction, here through NY composer and drummer Devin Gray's music representing sonic examples of those attainments, heard through stellar trio playing with trumpeter Dave Ballou and guitarist Ryan Ferreira, the latter adding electronic rhythmic components to their creative conversation.
GPS Trio (Chris Pitsiokos / Luke Stewart / Devin Gray)
Blast Beat Blues
(Rataplan Records)
Hard-edged NYC free jazz in a limited EP CD release from the trio of alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos, bassist Luke Stewart and drummer & composer Devin Gray, who explains that the music reflects "the modern world we're all trying to live in, with that odd mix of the comfortable and uncomfortable", as heard in the edgy and dynamic power of his group.
Carter, Daniel / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
(577 Records)
After decades playing together, the quartet of Daniel Carter on tenor sax, trumpet & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, release the first of two planned studio albums, with two extended and remarkably warm collective excursions bookending a shorter "Scintillate", in an exceptionally solid album of masterful modern jazz.
Cleaver, Gerald
Signs [VINYL + DOWNLOAD]
(577 Records)
Taking his cues from the electronic music of his Detroit roots, free jazz drummer Gerald Cleaver presents an album of synthetic rhythms and sonic landscape, each piece composed in detailed arrangements of compelling and adventurous structures, from propulsive grooves to sinuous soundscapes, a surprising and exciting twist showing Cleaver's strong compositional skills.
Gray, Devin / Ellery Eskelin / Michael Formanaek / Dave Ballou
Dirigo Rataplan II
(Rataplan Records)
Brooklyn drummer Devin Gray leads 3 musicians with Baltimore ties--Ellery Eskelin (sax), Dave Ballou (trumpet) and Michael Formanek (bass)--the rhythm team of this chord-less quartet providing the perfect platform for the diverse song structures in Gray's compositions, through tight melodic interaction or unrestricted excursions for the horn section; superb modern jazz.
Hopkins, Adam
Crickets
(Out Of Your Head Records)
A great example of the current Downtown/Brooklyn scene, using jazz as a jumping-off point to merge free playing, fusion, and rock stylings into an enthusiastic, and technically brilliant album, as bassist Adam Hopkins provides the compositions performed with the sextet of Anna Webber, Ed Rosenberg, & Josh Sinton on sax, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, and Devin Gray on drums.
Bynum, Taylor Ho / John Hebert / Gerald Cleaver
Book of Three: Continuum
(Relative Pitch)
Collective improvisation from Ho Bynum's Book of Three with bassist John Hebert & drummer Gerald Cleaver, following their RogueArt CD with this exceptional album of original compositions plus works from Bobby Bradford, Salim Washington, and Jim Hobbs.
Levin, Daniel Trio
Fuhuffah
(Clean Feed)
Cellist Daniel Levin's trio with Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten and Gerald Cleaver in a set of original compositions from one of contempory jazz's masters of cello improvisation.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Zethson, Alex Ensemble
Some Of Them Were Never Unprepared
(Relative Pitch)
Exploring how a composition can provide a sense of weightlessness, and influenced by the music of gamelan, krautrock, Tony Conrad & Arnold Dreyblatt, composer Alex Zethson structured these works to influence the 13 performers in his ensemble into a state of intense focus and listening as they strike, bow and pluck their instruments, creating an ecstatic sense of infinite motion.
Feldman, Morton (Judith Wegmann / Andreas Kunz)
For John Cage [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
First performed in 1982, Morton Feldmans' monumental composition for piano and violin dedicated to peer John Cage creates a distinctive environment of instrumental interaction where patterns are subtly varied in a virtual suspension of time as the music drifts and reflects, beautifully rendered in this 2021 recording by pianist Judith Wegmann and violinist Andreas Kunz.
Prehn, Tom Quartet
Centrifuga & Solhverv
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
Two early free jazz masterpieces from 1964 never released in their day, from Danish pianist Tom Prehn and his Kvartet with Poul Ehlers on bass, Fritz Krogh on tenor saxophone and featuring drummer Finn Slumstrup, the close mic recording bring their swinging and enthusiastic music to the foreground in an adventurous album that absolutely demands to be heard!
Smith, Wadada Leo Great Lakes Quartet
The Chicago Symphonies [4 CD BOX SET]
(Tum)
Inspired by Don Cherry's 1966 Symphony For Improvisers and intended to illustrate the profound cultural contributions Chicagoans & Midwesterners have made, trumpeter Leo Smith's presents four expansive symphonies, three performed with Henry Threadgill (sax & flute), John Lindberg (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums), the fourth with Jonathon Haffner (sax) plus Smith, Lindberg and DeJohnette.
Kuzu (Rempis / Dorji / Damon)
All Your Ghosts in One Corner
(Aerophonic)
Touring the South and Midwest US just before the pandemic lockdown, the assertive Chicago trio Kuzu of Dave Rempis on alto, tenor & baritone saxophones, Tashi Dorji on guitar and Tyler Damon on drums, processed and echoed the sense of uncertainty they encountered, capturing it in depth during two concerts and reflecting it in this powerful, almost ritualistic free jazz album.
Ulher, Birgit / Damon Smith / Chris Cogburn
The Eternity-Cult
(Balance Point Acoustics)
A building and extended set of fully free improvisation using unusual techniques, from the trio of Birgit Ulher on trumpet, radio, speaker & objects, Damon Smith on double bass and Chris Cogburn on percussion & electronics, Ulher using the trumpet as a sound source as much as a conventional instrument, as the trio builds from near silence to intensely controlled interaction.
Korekyojinn (Yoshida / Nasuno / Natsuki)
Mesopotamia
(Magaibutsu Limited)
The Japanese Korekyojinn trio of Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, Mitsuru Nasuno on bass and Kido Natsuki on guitar continue their high energy approach to prog and jazz/rock with this, their 6th studio album over 20 years, in seven new pieces of extended instrumental works maintaining the effortlessly complex & joyful interplay amid quickly shifting time signatures and melodic changes.
Grid Mesh (Thewes / Schubert / Willers / Kellers)
Four
(Creative Sources)
Though listing four tracks, this is an indexed continuous concert from the German Grid Mesh quartet of Christof Thewes on trombone, Frank Paul Schubert on alto & soprano saxophones, Andreas Willers on electric guitar and Willi Kellers on drums & percussion, performing at Spielraum Schiffweiler-Heiligenwald in Germany in 2020 for a wildly buidling concert of free collective force.
Vicente, Luis / Vasco Trilla
Made of Mist
(577 Records)
Mist and mystery in pensive and meticulous improvisation from the Portuguese duo of trumpeter Luis Vicente and percussionist Vasco Trilla, their 2nd studio album after their 2019 Clean Feed release, exploring textures and timbres through extended techniques and detailed percussive interaction, as confident expressions rise and submerges in a wonderfully abstracted haze.
Euphorium_freakestra
Grande Casino [3 CDS]
(Euphorium)
A truly diverse set of improvisations, from solo work to large scale ensemble, as Euphorium_Freakestra are joined by European Free Jazz legends, drummer Baby Sommer and double bassist Barry Guy, in a band with leader & pianist Oliver Schwerdt, plus Bertrand Denzler, Burkard Beins, John Eckhardt, Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, Patrick Schanze, Daniel Beilschmidt & Freidrich Kettlitz.
Campbell, Roy / John Dikeman / Raoul van der Weide / Peter Jacquemyn / Klaus Kugel
When The Time Is Right
(577 Records)
Performing at Bimhuis in 2013, the trans-Atlantic quintet of Roy Campbell on trumpet, flugelhorn & flute, John Dikeman on saxophone, Raoul van der Weide on cello & percussion, Peter Jacquemyn on bass & voice and Klaus Kugel on drums, perform an extended, energetic and dynamic set of free improvisation, with intricate melodies and beautifully rich transitions.
Phillips / Butcher / Solberg
We met - and then
(Relative Pitch)
The debut of the advanced and innovative collaboration between improviser and prominent double bassist Barre Phillips, British saxophonist John Butcher and Norwegian drummer, percussionist and improviser, Stale Liavik Solberg, recording at the Blow out Festival in Oslo, Norway in 2019, and at Offene Ohren, Einstein Kultur, in Munchen, Germany in 2018.
Mitchell, Roscoe / Sandy Ewen / Damon Smith / Weasel Walter
A Railroad Spike Forms The Voice
(ugEXPLODE)
The first meeting between Art Ensemble of Chicago saxophone legend Roscoe Mitchell and the long running improvisational trio of Sandy Ewen (guitar), Damon Smith (double bass) and Weasel Walter (drums), in an epic 72-minute recording captured live at Duende in Oakland, CA in 2014, an amazing display contrasting control & chaos, form and deconstruction; exemplary!
Mayas', Magda Filamental (w / Davies / Caddy / Theriot / Davies / Parkins / Thieke / Abdelnour)
Confluence
(Relative Pitch)
Composed by pianist Magda Mayas for an octet of superb avant improvisers including Rhodri Davies, Zeena Parkins, Michael Thieke, Angharad Davies, &c. and performed live at the 2019 Music Unlimited 33, in Wels, Austria, this extended work uses a graphic score to interpret 12 photographs taken over an hour observing the merging waters of the Rhone and the Arve rivers.
Braxton, Anthony
12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 [12 CD Box Set]
(New Braxton House)
Newly Distributed in 2021: A 12-CD set presenting Braxton in dialogue with three distinctive duet partners: violinist Erica Dicker, vocalist Kyoko Kitamura and bassoonist Katherine Young, recorded in the summer of 2012 over two sessions with each player, a remarkable and expansive set of innovative and creative improvisation.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC

New In:
Recent Releases
Improvisation
Electro/Experimental
Compositional
Rock & Related