Nicholas D'Amato's Royal Society

“Nullius In Verba” is the first solo album by Royal Society founder and well-traveled bassist, Nicholas D’Amato. He has been everywhere and in between in the music world. Most recently, he had toured the world with contemporary blues mainstay, Popa Chubby. In addition, his music has been featured in countless radio and television commercials. As a member of the female-fronted, New Jersey rock act, Blue Muse, Nicholas D’Amato had played with the first hand-picked member of his Royal Society, ballistic drummer, John O’ Reilly Jr. No stranger to playing music off the beaten path, O’ Reilly has most recently been associated with progressive dynamos, Tunnels and played with the pop/rock/electronic group, Jigawattica during his stay in Boston, MA. Last, The third hand picked member of Nicholas D’Amato’s Royal Society is world-renowned guitarist, Wayne Krantz. Having played with such musical luminaries as Steely Dan and Billy Cobham, Wayne Krantz has certainly become a big name amongst musicians. He has released 6 of his own solo albums since 1991 and after each successive release, his name and following continue to grow larger by the day.

D'Amato named his group after the Royal Society, a group of visionary scientists and thinkers founded in 17-century England, whose members include Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking. Like them, Nicholas DÕAmato and his Royal Society, with their debut release ÒNullius In VerbaÓ, will be reshaping the world of music for years to come.

Bios:

Wayne Krantz

ex / sideman with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Billy Cobham and others, has made six albums under his own name since 1991; three on the Enja label ("Signals", "Long to Be Loose" and "2 Drink Minimum"), one on the Alchemy label ("Separate Cages") and, most recently, the self-produced CDs "Greenwich Mean" and "Your Basic Live".
Wayne's two recording bands during that time, a trio with Zach Danziger and Lincoln Goines from '92-'95 and a trio with Tim Lefebvre and Keith Carlock from '97-'03, have toured occasionally in Europe and the US, though they have always been most easily found at NYCs 55 Bar on Thursday nights.
Without the excess of promotional hype, the music has found a devoted, underground, international audience who, with their growing support, keep the music moving forward.

John O'Reilly Jr

John O'Reilly Jr. grew up in Los Angeles, CA and started playing piano at a very young age. In 3rd grade, he began his rigorous study of the violin, which lasted well into his years at Arizona State University. While a set of drums was always around the house (his father is a drummer), John didn't begin serious study on the instrument until his second year of college. During the seven years that John lived in Arizona, he honed his craft both in and out of school, and played in every musical situation he could find. The highlight of these years was spent with a band called One, which signed to Mercury Records and began John's recording career. When it came time to move on, John left Arizona for Boston, MA. He lived there for two years, playing with the pop/rock/electronica group Jigawattica and freelancing around the Northeast.
John currently plays drums with Western Tread Recordings artists Reubens Accomplice and freelances on various touring and recording projects throughout the US and abroad.

Press:

Electric bassist, Nicholas D'Amato, a busy sideman with Popa Chubby, makes his leader debut in the esteemed company of guitarist, Wayne Krantz. Drummer, John O'Reilly completes the power-trio lineup. It's a gritty, but compact affair, with eight tracks coming in a just under 40 minutes. Three of these are unaccompanied bass solos: "Senus" shows off D'Amato's fat, Fender style sound, while "Expanded" is a fuzz-tone meditation and "Compound" involves knotty polyphony.

Krantz, who plays with his customary fire and finesse, has perhaps the most distinctive touch of any solid-body guitarist--so much so that he tends to make his sideman work sound like his own (perhaps this will also be true of Chris Potter's forthcoming disc). D'Amato's originals seem tailor-made for Krantz's tart, staccato, tonally ambiguous riffing, often augmented by wah-wah and other pungent effects. Fans of Krantz's trio sessions will find the sound of this music familiar, although D'Amato's identity comes through in the intricate unison figures of "Sequence," the exaggerated dynamics of "Ratio" and the lilting four-chord motif in the second half of "Extracted."
-David Adler JazzTimes

It’s a tight-knit and at times, loose groove jazz-fusion set recorded at a New Jersey studio. Guitarist Wayne Krantz weaves atop Nicholas D’Amato’s thumping bass grooves and drummer John O’Reilly’s snappy pulses, where the trio pursues an open-ended format. They run with any given motif while morphing various grooves into mini-movements. The band generates an abundance of quirky, funk style escapades and swiftly generated unison runs. On certain tracks, D’Amato employs a fuzz-bass type gizmo while Krantz puts the pedal to the metal in spots. Yet the primary focus of this engagement is rooted within improvisation and the restructuring of previously stated dialogues and rhythms. allaboutjazz.com

"Nicholas D'Amato's Royal Society - NULLIUS IN VERBA:  I'm not exactly sure what Nicholas' music can be classified as... or, if it even should be... what I can say, without qualification, is that it's highly original, & full of great energies!  All original tracks, featuring D'Amato's bass, drums by John O'Reilly & great galloping guitars by Wayne Krantz, these compositions will thrill jazz fans who've been lookin' for something "more" than standard.  Every tune is rock-solid, anchored in bass & drum works that keep the listener wondering where they're going next... what my ears dug on the most was the improvised aspects of each of the tracks - they go much further than "just jam", plumbing the depths of a particular rhythm for all of it's nuances.  "Smooth jazz" fans probably won't like the music here much, because this kind of music challenges the listener to actually comprehend what the players are saying with their music... but those with (even a bit of) adventure in their ears will "get this" right away.  This CD will be a "treasure" in the collections of those who enjoy something "different" in their listening.  I rate it as MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... in addition to giving it the "PICK" of this issue for "best improvised jazz trio"!." Rotcod Zzaj

"NICHOLAS D'AMATO'S ROYAL SOCIETY/Nullius in Verba: A trio of hard hitting pros gets together to let some real music rise up from improv and experimentation and then let's the tape roll once it's all coming together. The kind of progressive jazz tinged rock you don't get a real taste of any more, this is simply the new wave in progressive music no mater what kind of label you want to hang on it. With the kind of east coast aggression that has fueled many classic dates in the past in tow, this is a hot sounding set that people who's ears need to hear things that push the borders with a plan in mind are sure to love." EER Music review

Improvisations draw from several different wells. The improvisations seem fairly free, but there also appears to be an underlying structure to much of it. They aren't afraid to flex their musical muscles, but the whole is something other than a stereotypical fusion blowout.
Guitarist Wayne Krantz sometimes recalls avant gardists like James "Blood" Ulmer, Marc Ribot and the Magic Band's Robert Lucas by using disjointed picking and assembling jagged runs, as on the opening "Sequitur." Riding the wah and incorporating feedback On tracks like "Pivot" he sounds like nothing so much as as Miles Davis-era John McLaughlin. The main riffs on "Sequence" and "Rat
Nullius in Verba is an interesting release. There are definitely moments of excess, such as D'Amato's heavily processed solo "Expanded," but there at least as many moments where the group shows surprising restraint. With a uniquely East Coast sound, Nicholas D'Amato's Royal Society comes across like a jazzier version of Philadelphia's instrumental metalists Stinking Lizavetta and/or a rock-oriented edition of the Music Revelation Ensemble. Edward Kane jazzreview.com

2005 Release. Debut recording by Nicholas D'Amato. The music on this record is fresh, interesting, challenging. Bassist Nicholas and drummer John O'Reilly has solid groove thing going and guitarist Wayne Krantz amazes yet again with his signature rhythmic approach and distinctive style. A must have recording. abstractlogix.com