Gravity!!!


Gravity!!! is an album by multi-instrumentalist Howard Johnson and his band Gravity. Johnson's second release as a leader, it was recorded at Clinton Recording Studios in New York City, and was issued in 1996 by Verve Records. On the album, Johnson is joined by tubists Dave Bargeron, Joseph Daley, Nedra Johnson, Carl Kleinsteuber, Tom Malone, Earl McIntyre, Marcus Rojas, and Bob Stewart, guitarist Georg Wadenius, pianists Ray Chew, Paul Shaffer, and James Williams, double bassists Bob Cranshaw and Melissa Slocum, drummers Kenwood Dennard and Kenny Washington, and percussionist Victor See Yuen.

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow wrote: "Imagine a group that consists of piano, bass, drums, and five to seven tubas... Despite the instrumentation, the group plays the music... with swing, creativity, and more variety than one might expect."
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated that, in comparison with Johnson's debut album, Gravity!!! was "a big step forward," and commented: "There was never any doubt that Johnson and his fellow-tubists had the vision and the chops to avoid a one-dimensional sound and approach."
Writing for All About Jazz, Jim Santella remarked: "the tuba has its place in music: the rhythm, the pulse, the bottom harmony. But in the hands of 55-year-old Johnson and his five tuba-mates, plus rhythm section, the instrument becomes a melody-maker... Light on their feet, each of the tuba masters takes solo spots that swing hard show their individuality... Recommended."
W. Kim Heron of MusicHound Jazz described the album as "direct, soulful, and swinging, despite the big brass ballast."

Track listing

  1. "Big Alice" – 9:07
  2. "Stolen Moments" – 7:53
  3. "'Way 'Cross Georgia" – 5:35
  4. "Kelly Blue" – 12:13
  5. "Be No Evil" – 3:18
  6. "Yesterdays" – 11:08
  7. "Here Comes Sonny Man" – 4:05
  8. "Appointment in Ghana" – 6:00
  9. "'Round Midnight" – 4:53
  10. "And Then Again... " – 0:22

Personnel