Acclaim
"Spilled out fleet, chattering lines bending and spitting notes with abandon, in a tone as pure and blue as glacial melt."
- Seattle Times
"Tantalizing solos from flute sensation Anne Drummond."
- Jazz Connection Magazine
"Beautifully lyrical playing from Drummond"
- Jazz Times
"Lyrical use of flute against a vibrantly polyrhythmic backdrop."- The Washington Post
"Anne Drummond is something else again on Like Water: an airy sylph whose lines burrow into the center of the band, embedding her in the middle of each light, ephemeral samba, and become one with the group sound. Unlike most flute soloists who tend to float over the band, Drummond somehow lets her sound emanate fluidly from ground zero in your psyche."
- AllAboutJazz.com |November 2009
"Curumim" is a bouncy, incisive Brazilian flavored tune that's perfect for a flute/piano duet such as this one performed by Drummond and Mueller. Drummond's flute flutters around the piano, stating the melody, playfully jousting with Mueller and inserting mini-solos so seamlessly that her constant role changes go mostly unnoticed. Mariano's composition is a strong one, but "Curumim" is greatly bolstered by the rapport between these two players."
- Jazz.com | December 2009
"Drummond takes an understated, lyrical approach rather than focusing on fast runs and overblowing. With this admirable effort, Anne Drummond comes across as a talented instrumentalist and composer who is willing to share the spotlight with her fellow musicians, good advice for any up-and-coming jazz musician."
- AllMusic.com | January 2010
"Drummond's joy and energy is immediately noticeable and her playing is passionate throughout. The blend between the pizzicato string line, at the outset of "Spring," and the rest of the musicians is intoxicating. Pianist Xavier Davis makes his lone appearance here, providing a touching Egberto Gismonti's "Frevo" is three-and-a-half minutes of musical magic; Drummond's playing is electric, and her blend and chemistry with Mueller is astounding. Drummond is comfortable in her skin and values the group dynamic over the individual."
- All About Jazz | Feb 2010
"She plays a cool refreshing bossa nova that feels great. She was smart to surround herself with a fine set if musicians. The session is appropriately titled as Drummond's compositions can be soothing, cleansing, powerful and invigorating, Like Water! Just sit back and enjoy the tide."
- O's Place | Jazz March 2010
"Aptly titled, flutist Anne Drummond's debut recording as a leader is an exercise in fluidity, alternating between flowing ballads and surging, uptempo numbers. Drummond shows a great sense of leadership here, her fine technique imbued with spirit and imagination. Delivering this promising concept album as her first effort, one can't help but wonder where Drummond might go next."
- Jazz Times March 2010
Download the In Tune Magazine article to see more of Anne
Bio
Historically flute has not played a primary role in jazz. It's been utilized in the genre for several decades but has never been as ubiquitous as saxophone, trumpet or trombone, and virtually every acknowledged master has been male. Anne Drummond is a rarity, named Downbeat's rising star and featured on the cover of Flute Talk magazine.
Like Water, her recording released in September '09, is marked with fluidity incorporating lyrical melodies and scintillating rhythms of Brazil. Accompanied by a small band of virtuosos-Klaus Mueller and Xavier Davis (piano), Paul Meyers (guitar), Nilson Matta (bass), Duduka da Fonseca (drums), Tom Chiu (violin) and Dave Eggar (cello)-Seattle native Drummond imbues Like Water's eight alternately soothing and soaring tracks, both original compositions and carefully chosen interpretations, with uncommon spirit and grace.
Her artistry has previously enhanced the music of such jazz greats as vibraphonist Stefon Harris and bassist Avishai Cohen. However, Like Water's roots can be traced back several years to when the New York-based Drummond, along with Matta and da Fonseca, served as a member of pianist Kenny Barron's group Canta Brasil. She then began writing string arrangements for her own album combining Brazilian themes with chamber music influences while touring with the indie rock band Bright Eyes. While playing New York's Town Hall with Bright Eyes on a weeklong stint (Norah Jones, Brit from Spoon and Lou Reed sitting in) she recorded this new album in the daytime hours before the evening shows.
Produced by ObliqSound's co-founder Michele Locatelli, Like Water ebbs and flows; the musicians' tightly synced lines complement one another intuitively, but these pros always allow ample room for individual expression as well. From Drummond and Mueller's spare piano-flute duet on the Antonio Cesar Camargo Mariano-penned "Curumim," with its contrasting sections and catchy arpeggio-like lines, to "Spring," the album-closing tour-de-force written by Drummond and Mark Bordenet-a song that eases in gently before expanding exponentially with the full ensemble embellishing the tantalizing melody-Like Water offers new pleasures with each successive tune. Rich melodies abound, for example in Toninho Horta's uptempo "Aquelas Coisas Todas," arranged by Mueller, which leads off the album with the quartet of Drummond, Eggar, Mueller and Da Fonseca catching a groove and never letting go. One of the sweeter ballads on the album, "Lazy Afternoon," is lush and pastoral, while "Afoxamba" is all fir and passion.
Although Like Water is an all-instrumental effort, the word lyrical has often been used to describe Drummond's flute work. The arrangements are in service to the song, not the other way around-none of the musicians involved with Like Water are here to flaunt and strut. And as a leader, Drummond knows both when to take charge and when to cede the floor to her collaborators. Critics have praised her "cutting edge improvising" (Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times), "full-bodied tone, enviable technique and innate musicality" (Downbeat) and "arresting style" (Ben Ratliff, New York Times).
Among the many who have taken notice of Drummond's playing is one of the world's most renowned flutists, Ian Anderson of the legendary rock band Jethro Tull, who invited her to join him on stage last year at New York's Beacon Theater.
The instrument found its way into her life early-at age four, Drummond asked her flute-playing mother to show her some notes and before long they were dueting. Anne also learned piano, first from her father and then more rigorously from a professional instructor. Although she had discovered jazz at age eight-listening to her grandmother's recordings of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Bill Evans, and even writing a report on Ellington in the third grade-Drummond was on track to study classical music until a middle school band director, Robert Knatt, convinced her to apply her flute talent to jazz. She later attended the Manhattan School of Music as a piano major, with Barron serving as her instructor, but he quickly hired her to play flute in his band, and many of Drummond's classmates were unaware that she even played piano. Since then, she's become a regular within New York City's fertile jazz scene. Not that she's just a local favorite - after endorsing Powell and Sonaré flutes, Drummond now appears in their national advertising campaigns.
Like Water is the culmination of what might be considered Anne Drummond's apprenticeship and the first step in what will undoubtedly be a long career. But for now she's taking things one day at a time, trying not to apply too much weight to it all. "Like Water is meant to take you on vacation when you listen to it," she says.
