Press and Testimonials

Composer David Cieri performed his original improvised music at Carnegie Hall.  These interesting keyboard rambles hint at many contemporary and classical influences and use some extended techniques inside the piano.  He shows flashes of real wit and good organizational and musical imagination.

Jeffrey James of International Composer : 2010

Really beautiful mood and strong playing all around...its real music, not trapped by boxes, definitions, genres or styles... it creates its own style...honest, imaginative, fearless...

The New York Times : 2008

Very few albums by little known artists make the striking impression of The Goat and The Violin. The nicely designed recording tells nothing about the music or the players, but David Cieri, who matured musically in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1990s through several local Jazz and rock groups, brings together a diverse group to present a mix of beautiful melodies and eerily nightmarish sounds. Cieri incorporates multiple influences, with an undercurrent of pure, simple sound on many of the pieces. For example, on the very slow "Jack R. Dymond, Discoverer of Rare Life Forms at the Sea Bottom," Cieri selects his notes carefully and gently, switching course and ending with scratchy atmospherics. This a polished recording, with great attention to detail, and while there is some fine Jazz piano from Cieri, it is the diversity of effects, the nuances, and the impressively clever arrangements that make this something special. As a pianist, Cieri is a minimalist who picks his notes carefully, sometimes producing a shimmering beauty, as on the lovely "Margaret and Eugene After the War," while on "Daniel" he produces simple, gorgeous harmonies while the drums and bass ripple with energy underneath. Ngozi" combines a country twang with an Eastern spaciousness, as the strings of what must be either the guitar or Dobro resonate. Chris Speed, the only well-known performer on the album, offers his virtuosic swinging clarinet on a beautiful, unhurried performance of "The Goat and the Violin," which is followed by "Science Times," with Cody Geil’s mournful violin and Cieri’s deliberate, syncopated piano and ending with the intertwin- ing of Geil and the siren-like vocals of Jessica Goodkin, a longtime collaborator of Cieri. Goodkin’s stunning voice is also put to wonderful effect on "Armistice Day," along with the very pretty cello of Indigo Ruth-Davis and Cieri’s piano. "Prayer for Sam" is unsurprisingly gently gospelized (to cite David S. Ware), with Dan Branagen’s haunting voice-like flugelhorn. The album ends with "By Ourselves," solo piano brood-ing and dark leading to an opening of hope. With influences as diverse as John Law and Marilyn Crispell, David Cieri has made an important contribution with The Goat and the Violin, showing that dramatically reducing intensity and velocity can be effective, compelling, and creative techniques for creative expression.

Cadence Magazine : 2007

The music has a laid-back attitude, the kind only great musicians can achieve. Keys guru Dave Cieri, formerly of Chief Broom, shows up all over the album, playing organ, piano and accordion.

Boulder Weekly : Review of Reed Foehl’s recording Stoned Beautiful 2008

When it comes to the elusive spirit of jazz (past and present), colorful Colfax watering hole Dulcinea’s is one swinging primate. Taking pains to stock the jukebox with both legends (from Coltrane to Miles, Monk to Holiday) and newer members of the genre (Charlie Hunter, Norah Jones), the Monkey covers a lot of ground. It’s an invitingly relaxed setting, too, with comfortable couches, tasteful murals, vintage black-and-white photos, an old-school bar, and a dart room and pool table for more sporting jazz cats. Live music is a blend of local talent, including keyboardist Dave Cieri and soul crooner Jessica Goodkin, and traveling acts, such as the Willie Waldman Project and the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. Once a month, catch the Progressive Sessions, during which the hottest local jazz players stretch it all out. Get ready for a fresh take on a venerable tradition.

Westword : Voted Best Denver Jazz Club 2004

He emanates a low-key though undeniable musical leadership. People who work with him, including club owners and bar staff, speak reverentially of him. Anecdotes of his unique and dedicated approach to his craft include the time Dulcinea’s doorman Aaron Reyes witnessed an hour-long solo rehearsal during which Cieri undertook an exercise that consisted of playing the same two notes, a half-step apart, slowly and repeatedly. Reyes, an avid musician himself, was impressed.

"Notes are composed of multiple overtones," Cieri explains. "And when you’re playing a solo, those notes go zipping by almost unheard. But when you isolate them and really listen to them, to their fullness, you get a much deeper understanding of them. And by really taking them in and listening closely, you can get a better handle of their full range of possibilities."

Despite such rarefied and intellectual maunderings, Cieri is known for his aggressive approach to soloing, at times hitting the keyboard with staccato chops that elicit an atonal torrent of sound. The results can be slightly cacophonous, but they work. When Cieri’s on, it’s as if he is channeling the ghost of jazzmen past, near the edge of trance, though he claims to be very much in the present during these moments.

Westword : 2003

Dulcinea, what did we do before you were born? Stellar live jazz, blues and funk blare -- or sometimes ooze -- from this Colfax lair six nights a week. A laid-back, hip Capitol Hill crowd helps give Dulcinea’s the pervasive feeling of comfort; there’s no pretension, just casual cool among the clusters of grungy-yet-comfy sofas and sturdy coffee tables. With older siblings Sancho’s Broken Arrow and Quixote’s True Blue guiding her way, Dulcinea has already turned into a beautiful lady.

Westword : Voted Best Denver Jazz Club 2003

The virtuous fingers of the keyboard player are enough to make you stop dancing in order to witness what happens to somebody when the music completely entrances them...

Boulder Planet : 1997

At first listen, Chief Broom’s visceral folk-rock eclecticism recalls the rootsy piano work of Widespread Panic.

The Onion : 1997

The group’s approach is rooted in Cieri’s fine piano playing.

Westword : 1997