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Nick Manson | Mercator [Music/Review]
On any given day, we can visit various web sites on the Internet and discover an infinite catalog of jazz recordings. Recently I stumped into this recording titled “Mercator” by keyboardist Nick Manson. Like you, his name was unfamiliar. Nonetheless, two names John Patitucci [bassist] and Andy Suzuki [saxophonist] appeared on his record along with drummer Ian Froman moved me to further investigate the possibilities of what “Mercator” is all about musically.
First, the album title “Mercator.” At a glance, I had no idea what this title meant. So, I immediately grabbed a Webster dictionary in search of the definition. Ironically, “Mercator” pertains to maps, which must intrigue Nick Manson because on the album cover there is a detailed sketching of a world map displayed. “Mercator” or the “Mercator projection is a method of map-making in which the meridians and the parallels of latitude are straight lines, intersecting at right angles named for 16th-c Flemish mapmaker Gerhardous Mercator.” – Webster