Tierra de Nadie

photo by Na Yingyu, 2012

Ricardo Gallo’s “Tierra de Nadie” performs original music conceived as a sort of imaginary musical folklore, a “No man’s land” which is the intriguing basis for exploratory improvisations. The group is a quintet/sextet featuring saxophonist Dan Blake, trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias, and drummers Pheeroan akLaff and/or Satoshi Takeishi. The compositions picture a landscape of its own, providing a space in which contributing musicians can inhabit freely and also, that is devoid of flags.
Its debut recording titled “The Great Fine Line” was released in November 2010 by Clean Feed Records (CF 209).

This group has performed in New York in venues such as The Stone, The Blue Note, Joe’s Pub, Cornelia Street Cafe, Drom, Museo del Barrio, among others.

 “While everyone is accorded solo space, this is genuine ensemble music, with the arrangements for Gallo’s original compositions emphasizing alert interplay, multi-linear improvisation and rapid shifts in density and tone.”
Writes Peter Margasak for Downbeat.

“Gallo has assembled a first-rate band and given it plenty with which to work”
Stuart Broomer for NYC Jazz Record

“Blake and Anderson’s animated call-and-response, the rhythm section’s roiling undercurrent and Gallo’s harmonious inventions gracefully integrate boisterous Dixieland licks, Latin American polyrhythms and regal formalism into a beguiling cross-cultural fusion that defies simple categorization.”
Troy Collins for Point of Departure


Discography

iTunes
CD info

The Great Fine Line

Tierra de Nadie

Clean Feed Records 2010

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listen to it on any streaming service

Ricardo Gallo piano
Mark Helias bass
Dan Blake soprano saxophone (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9) and tenor saxophone (4, 6)
Ray Anderson trombone
Satoshi Takeishi drums (1, 2, 4, 9) and percussion (3, 5, 6, 7)
Pheeroan akLaff drums (5, 6, 7, 8)

  1. Intruders
  2. Stomp at No Man’s Land
  3. Conspiracy
  4. Three Versions of a Lie
  5. Hermetismo
  6. The Intervention
  7. South American Idyll
  8. Improbability
  9. La Piña Blanca

All compositions by Ricardo Gallo.

Produced by Ricardo Gallo and Mark Helias
Recorded: December 13 and 22, 2009 at North 6 Media Labs, Brooklyn, NY by Christian Kauffman
Mixed by Mark Helias at Radio Legs Studio, New York
Mastered in Portugal by Luis Delgado
Executive Production: Trem Azul
Cover Art: Claudia Ruiz
Design: Travassos