Reviews
“Goebel negotiates even his most challenging runs with deftness, never showboating but manifesting his ideas with the immediacy and sureness of a master craftsman.”
-JazzTimes
“Fluent and consistently creative.”
-Scott Yanow, Downbeat
“Greg Goebel's new CD Rainy City firmly places him in a small handful of world class improvisers that have taken the language of the jazz masters and combined it with the new emerging landscape of rhythmic sophistication characterized by the generation of jazzers in the new millennium. Here is a force that is stretching known boundaries and moving the music into new territory.”
-Larry Koonse, Guitarist, California Institute of the Arts Faculty
“There’s a new generation of scintillating players in the process of establishing themselves right here in Portland, Oregon. One who is very much admired is pianist Goebel. And you’ll understand why when you listen to the nine original compositions and one classic on his new CD. Goebel surrounds himself with stellar colleagues in Rob Davis, tenor sax, Dave Captein, bass, and Todd Strait, drums. One aspect of Goebel’s writing seems to be that, at any tempo, he writes clever lines with wit, subtlety and movement. For example, the title tune (wonder what inspired that?) has a drone-like aspect, but at the same time, a hopeful feeling. The only standard is the Gershwin’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” one of many bright spots from “Porgy And Bess.” Goebel alters the rhythm a bit, but not so much as to suggest a “look what I can do” attitude. I don’t know where these song titles came from, but I liked the quirky energy of “The Bucky Rug,” “Eastern Blue Ice” and “In The Red.” Really, all the originals on the CD have something quite unique to offer. And Goebel deserves all the praise hereabouts. He’s a burner!”
-George Fendell, Jazz Society of Oregon
“Have you seen this man?
You will.
Greg Goebel plays with attitude and the prolific talent to back it up. Rainy City includes nine original compositions guaranteed to put the world of modern jazz piano on notice.
In the all to predictable arena that is modern jazz piano it is rare to hear such an original talent so firmly grounded yet artistically daring. There is a deceptively subtle rhythmic movement throughout Rainy City that marries tradition and innovation so incredibly well. Most piano ensembles of any size run the risk having the pianist as a somewhat pretentious leader accompanied by three after thoughts. Rainy City is a wondrous cohesion of harmonious thought, a perfect blend of a lyrical sense of purpose with colorful harmonics and a splash of contemporary sensibilities. Joining Goebel we find an A list lineup including Todd Strait on drums, Dave Captein on bass and the firebrand Rob Davis on tenor saxophone. The diversity in compositions as one begins to roll through the tracks are like pieces of a melodic jigsaw puzzle that contain a dynamic ebb and flow without venturing off into the pretentious abyss that so many young artists find themselves, never to be heard from again.
The one cover is the George & Ira Gershwin classic "It Ain't Necessarily So." The arrangement is spot on and fresh without mangling the main theme. Occasionally Goebel will venture off the harmonic path with some odd metered gems but the difference here is that Goebel apparently does not feel the need to pitch a tent to simply prove a point.
Greg Goebel is one of about half a dozen pianists that are redefining the instrument, the literature and the useful purpose of the piano and doing it with the skills of a master.
5 Stars!”
-Brent Black, @CriticalJazz
"Greg has that gentle but self-assured touch. His solos are always measured very wisely - much to say yet never a worn out welcome. He has the gift of groove and advanced harmony, but it is this particular combination of calm and wisdom that sets him apart for me... And oh, did I mention the musician he is to work with."
-Gino Vannelli
"A young musician with talent to make larger waves. Goebel's solos, rich with complexities and harmonic surprises, earned sustained applause from the audience."
-Doug Ramsey, Rifftides
"Greg is one of the most "hired" piano players because his ear is so good. Probably also because he has a great time feel, great chops and is a very nice person. But that's Greg 'The Side Man.' As a leader he is cutting and ruthless, demanding perfection and blind obedience…but seriously, folks, Greg is writing some great great music that's intricate, swinging an very beautiful."
-Alan Jones
“Greg is one of my favorite piano players...I've used him more in the past year than anyone. He is the best of the young guys in town, just phenomenal...a brilliant musician!”
-Ron Steen
"Greg Goebel is counted as one of the great new jazz promises on his instrument."
-Uppsala.com
"Greg Goebel is an amazingly talented jazz pianist and composer. He listens, there is substance in his music and his support for the music and the musicians he plays with is always evident."
-David Friesen
“Greg Goebel shows his evident brilliance on piano.”
-Hans-Bernd Hulsman, Starportrait
"A representative tune from Goebel’s new album, 44 Hours with its sparse, syncopated melody intro kicks, sounds reminiscent of Monk’s Evidence, but with a lighter, Chick Corea-like touch. And while Monk’s tune is rooted in swing, Goebel’s is rooted in Latin jazz, with that light piano approach found on Now He Sings, Now He Sobs. Strait’s drumming is a perfect groove elixir for Goebel’s tune: deft, light, precise, clean. With a Paul Wertico-like cymbal feel, lightly mining a deep variety of cymbal sounds, Strait grooves this click-click-click tune, his snare drum comping so light and precise you might mistake that too for cymbal work.
Davis’s sax work is upbeat, bright, and consummate, and Captein’s understated bass work grooves hard in the way Gary Peacock’s does. Strait and Davis stay right in the rhythmic pocket, even in busier, fiery sections; they make a good pairing for this album: Davis sparse, dark, meditative and Strait intricate, contrapuntal, busy, mezzo piano.
Goebel’s range of compositions (he wrote all but the Gershwin tune on this album) impresses. The swift, but plausible, shifts Goebel sometimes makes during the solo or procession of a tune remind of Schumann’s character pieces, brilliant musical conversation. More like Corea than Mingus in this aspect, Goebel’s tunes ring with originality and freshness, with the unexpected.
This is an album to enjoy and savor. Energetic and satisfying, it’s full of postmodern groove."
(Kevin Rabas, kcjazzambassadors.com)
"Craft young pianist Greg Goebel was spotted recently by a number of influential jazz critics of the prestigious Jazz Times Lamas at the head, and the musicians delighted Goebel such as Larry Koonse and Gino Vannelli. Almost everyone who speaks or writes about music Greg Goebel succumbed to the power of his own ideas bold manifestation of interpretation and specific assurance in the game, before which belongs to the biggest jazz keyboard masters.
Their debut album, entitled'' The Pianist'' Rainy City is a nine original compositions and wyjÄ…kowa young virtuoso interpretation gershwinowskiego theme of the Book of American Songbook:'' It Is not Necessarily So''.
The artist was accompanied by exquisite musicians: tenor saxophonist Rob Davis and the rhythm section: Dave Captein (bass) and Todd Strait (drums).
Each of the musicians in the recording of the quartet is stored on the disc being with cell merge individual pieces.
An excellent example of the interaction of each of the musicians is almost nine-minute composition'' The Road Home'', in which we have the opportunity zasłuchać outside the piano Goebel also in full of finesse solo double bass, emanating great job drumming workshop skill and, above all, in the vast and full camouflaged, impromptu party themes Tenor saxophonist.
Long, improvised solo bass topped with luscious Dave Captein solem drums Todd Strait is also very aesthetic ornament impressionistic theme'' 44 Hours''.
The unique'' pearl'' entire album is a beautiful title track of'' bolerowej'' specifics. The delicate piano chords and poignant tenor parts are of exceptional strength of the composition. Here, too, you have to see the excellent work of the rhythm section.
Another strong point of the whole seems to be a charming and classicist ballad'' Sleepyhead'' decorated with great finesse Dave Captein party.
Music fills the puck is impressive firmly rooted in tradition, while instilling in the canonical structure of the tracks a unique freshness sparkling with multicolored array of sounds. Almost piosenkowa'' architecture'' melody is opposed to some of the songs on'' Rainy City'' subtle motifs full of delicate sensibility and mood of harmony typical of the finest jazz ballads."
(Translated Polish review)