Paul Dietrich's Elemental Quartet (album release)

×

Expand

Jessica Jensen

The four members of Paul Dietrich's Elemental Quartet.

Paul Dietrich's Elemental Quartet (from left): Devin Drobka, Matt Gold, Paul Dietrich, Brian Courage.

media release: Paul Dietrich's fifth album as a leader, A Small Patch of Earth, features his smallest ensemble to date, and is out Dec. 6 through Shifting Paradigm Records. Following two quintet albums in 2014 and 2017, a full-size 18-piece jazz ensemble in 2019's Forward, and a nine-piece quintet-plus-string-quartet in 2023's 5+4 (also on Shifting Paradigm), Dietrich sought to return to basics. This led to the creation of his Elemental Quartet, which embraces a more intimate sound inspired by folk music and simpler musical forms, emphasizing interaction and improvisation over the structured nature of his recent large-ensemble work.

To bring this vision to life, Dietrich collaborated with three longtime friends. Guitarist Matt Gold, with his diverse musical background and experience across various styles, was the ideal choice for this project. Dietrich and bassist Brian Courage have been making music together since their college days in 2007. Drummer Devin Drobka, known for his thoughtful and interactive drumming, contributed a mindset that set a collaborative tone for the group.

Each of Dietrich’s nine original compositions on A Small Patch of Earth draws inspiration from the natural world and was recorded not in a studio, but in a concert hall, allowing the music to breathe. Tracks like “Dust” and “Like a Company of Ghosts” (inspired by a grove of birch trees) follow a basic lead-sheet format, which is uncommon in Dietrich’s work, encouraging the band to imprint their personalities on the music. “Gray,” the oldest composition on the album, serves as a slow, muted reflection on the depths of winter.

Dietrich's modern jazz background shines through in “Slide” and the title track, “A Small Patch of Earth,” both of which incorporate the longer forms characteristic of his previous work, infused with a folk-inspired twist. “With a Chance of Rain” exemplifies the album’s meditative undertones, while “Dry County,” a lively, Frisellian folk-rock romp, adds a fun exclamation point to the collection.

“Confluence” and “Galaxies” allow the band to explore a freer musical landscape, with Drobka taking the lead on “Confluence,” a piece that flows like the undercurrents of adjacent bodies of water. “Galaxies” features a short, repetitive melody and serves as a reflective coda for the album, contemplating our insignificant place in a vast universe.

This album showcases music created by a genuine band that has played together for several years, resulting in a deep comfort and connection among its members. It offers a response to the complexity and pace of the modern world—music meant for taking a deep breath and finding solace.

Paul Dietrich has been described as “an apt bandleader, an exceptional composer, and a superlative performer” (All About Jazz) and “a skilled composer” (JazzTrail) and his music has been praised as “stunningly beautiful” (Audiophile Audition) and “captivating” (Chicago Jazz Magazine).

A composer, trumpet player and educator based in the Midwest, Dietrich has been the leader of the Paul Dietrich Quintet since 2012 and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble since 2016. The Chicago-based Quintet has released two albums: Focus (2017, ears&eyes) and We Always Get There (2014, Blujazz). The Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble’s 2019 album Forward features guest artist and world-renowned drummer Clarence Penn (Dave Douglas, Maria Schneider) alongside many of the Midwest’s best jazz musicians, including Greg Ward, Russ Johnson, Dustin Laurenzi, Matt Gold, and Andy Baker. 

In demand as a composer, Dietrich has completed over a dozen commissions for schools and organizations including Lawrence University’s Jazz Weekend, Ripon College, Madison College with the Edgar Knecht Trio (Germany), The Mount Horeb Middle School Jazz Festival, The UW-Whitewater Brass Quintet, and various high schools throughout Wisconsin. In 2017, Paul was commissioned by the Wisconsin Union Theater in Madison to write an extended work in honor of the Isthmus Jazz Festival’s 30th Anniversary. This piece was premiered at the festival in June 2017 by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Jazz Orchestra. Paul’s pieces have been played throughout the United States, and were performed as part of a cultural exchange program in Camagüey, Cuba in 2019.

Paul has twice been the recipient of the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium’s Artistic Development Grant. In 2017, he wrote the four-part suite “Forward,” inspired by the sights and sounds of his home state, which became the core of his 2019 album of the same name. In 2020, Paul received a grant to write and perform a project for a nine-piece ensemble including a string quartet, which debuted in late 2021 and was recorded in early 2023. That album, 5+4, will be released on Shifting Paradigm Records in October 2023.

As an educator, Paul is on the music faculty at Ripon College where he directs the jazz ensemble and jazz combo and teaches private lessons. He has also spent a term teaching jazz trumpet at Lawrence University, coordinated the jazz program at Prairie Music & Arts in Sun Prairie from 2014-2020, and directed the Jazz Orchestra at Madison East High School from 2016-18. 

Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in trumpet and jazz studies from Lawrence University (2010) and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies from DePaul University (2012). While at DePaul, Dietrich wrote several pieces that were performed by the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, including an arrangement of Phil Woods’ “Pairing Off,” which was recorded on the Jazzed Media release Right to Swing (2013) and featured Woods and the composer. Of this recording, All About Jazz called it “the sizzler of the disc, with a pronounced performance by the trumpeter.”

Paul is an active member of the Wisconsin music scene. In addition to his own groups, he has played regularly with many Madison-area groups including the Afrobeat ensemble Immigré, Michael Brenneis's Plutonium Ensemble, the Ben Ferris Octet, Grupo Candela, and numerous area big bands. He also served as the president of the non-profit organization Madison Music Collective from 2017-2020.