Bobby Previte

• Genre: Avant Garde Jazz

About

Typically linked with the wild-and-wooly New York Downtown scene due to associations with folks like Elliot Sharp and John Zorn, drummer Bobby Previte is actually a pretty levelheaded guy. Positioned in between the Bop mainstream and the more radical Free/Avant Garde Jazz axis, he turns out subtle, thoughtfully arranged audio narratives that generally take several listens to fully unravel. His albums have featured plenty of fine soloists (Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, and Don Byron among them), but their contributions seldom dominate, as Previte's writing eschews head-solos-head conventions in favor of more structured, thematically mapped-out designs. His drumming -- detailed and assertive but not showy -- suits his composing style, with his skins-heavy approach adding a rock feel at times. This facet is more readily apparent in his Fusion-tinged, electric guitar- and organ-heavy Latin for Travelers band than the all-acoustic, Post Bop-ish band Weather Clear, Track Fast.

- Will York