There?s a lot of great jazz piano trio music out there . . .
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 09/23/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
". . . but none better than this. Jean-Michel Pilc, The Bad Plus, Taylor Eigsti, Jacky Terrasson, Danilo Perez, Brad Mehldau, Cyrus Chestnut, The Standards Trio, EST, George Colligan, Monty Alexander, Abdullah Ibrahim, John Stetch, John Donaldson, John Taylor, Kenny Werner, DD Jackson, Jessica Williams, Cedar Walton, Mal Waldron, The Drummonds, Bill Mays, Steve Kuhn, Edward Simon, Tord Gustavsen, Martial Solal, Misha Mengelberg, Irene Schweitzer, Marilyn Crispell, Lazlo Gardony, Harold Danko, Ahmad Jamal, Dave Brubeck, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, McCoy Tyner, Fred Hersch, Chick Corea, Bill Charlap, John Hicks, Kenny Barron, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdez, and Paul Bley, to name a few, are all great, but it strikes me that this trio brings more to the table than any of these others do.First and foremost, we're talking musicality, sheer listenability. Beautiful melodies, brilliant conversational interaction, wonderful invention, engaging collective improv, a proper mix of tradition and innovation, exciting, idea-filled soloing, rhythmic dexterity, exact intonation, complete knowledge of jazz history lightly worn, breathless facility in all styles--these guys have it all. Let's start with the sidemen. Over the last decade, Ben Allison has become, perhaps, the premier bassist on the scene. Besides getting a gorgeous tone from his awkward instrument, he makes it sing, swing, and dance, all the time maintaining perfect intonation. For example, take his solo that closes out "Cascade Rising." There's such a deep command of his instrument that one scarcely notices that it's a bass solo--often not the most musically appealing type of solo. Jeff Ballard is also an absolutely top player. Generally regarded as among the very best of the downtown NY drummers, he shows why on every cut, but especially check out his brilliant work on "Chant," a free-flowing piece that works more on pulse than set rhythms, where he's all over his kit adding coloration, brilliant fills, and polyrhythms, all the while keeping in perfect dialog with his playing partners.But the real focus here is leader Frank Kimbrough. Every bit a peer of his chosen musical friends (Kimbrough and Allison are founders of the Jazz Composers Collective, a decade-old organization for the promotion and advancement of progressive music, and Ballard is their first call drummer), Kimbrough constantly sets the tone with thoughtful intros, effectively establishing mood, tempo, and sensibility. All the tunes are his as well. Equally effective comping, soloing, or engaging in collective improvisation, Kimbrough excels at rhythmically challenging playing, though he's not primarily a percussive player (but he can pound the keys when called for, as in "Svengali," a striking dark-toned tango). He has a beautiful tone and touch, somewhat reminiscent of Jacky Terrasson (although he's not as prettily delicate) and Kenny Werner.The tunes cover the waterfront: "Quickening," with is angular Monkish beauty, quirky chord voicings, and rhythmic pulse; "Cascade Rising," a drop-dead gorgeous ballad with a light, lilting Latin beat, as beguiling as crepuscular California graced by Santa Winds (that can blow a little wildly, as happens here); the free-sounding "Chant"; "Clara's Room," a charming waltz that blithely dances and spins out eleven and a half minutes of pure invention; the aforementioned tango-like "Svengali," a tribute to Gil Evans (of which the title is an acronym); the achingly beautiful "For Duke," a slow ballad that perfectly evokes Ellington without sounding one bit slavish or fawning; "TMI," a wicked, slightly off-kilter blues; and "Ancestor," a rousing high-wire-act closer that fully displays the trio's complete mastery of all elements.One of the amazing things about this disc is that it's a live recording--though you'd never know it from the cleanness of the sound and the impeccability of the playing. And thankfully, for me, at least, there's virtually no audience noise to distract--just the pure magic and excitement of the music. This is jazz at its absolutely finest--eminently listenable, brilliantly conversational, and bursting with ideas. One of the very top, if not the absolutely best, jazz releases of what continues to be an incredible year for this indigenous American music."
It's about the music
Ian Muldoon | Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia | 08/17/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I recall attending a concert of Oscar Peterson's in the 1970's. The Opera House was packed with people and expectation. The great man came on whipped through a dozen or so familiar tunes demonstrating his amazing facility, technique, speed, dezterity, knowledge, and left me bored and disappointed. The music passed us by that night. In the album QUICKENING it seems to me to be all about the music and it delivers in terms of continually interesting improvisation, emotional power, and satisfying structure. The dynamics of SVENGALI with its Middle East - Spanish rhythmic echoes is a study in itself of beautiful pianism and integrated communal trio music making at the highest level. Wonderful. If Mr Kimbrough touched a chord with me, it was my deep love of music regardless of genres and one also associated with the genius of Mr Paul Bley. Fear not - QUICKENING is a musical delight and one that you will return to many times."
Something else...
virgilio venditti | Italy, Avezzano (AQ) | 10/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Different things require a different approach and the development of a new taste. This record is "something else" in the sense that it catches you off-guard from the first note on and it sets itself in your brain little by little, as all "the real things" in life. It starts with "Quickening", a tune that echoes (to me) the best Don Pullen and Keith Jarrett of the seventies and goes on, in a magical trip, with "Cascade Rising"; give it a listen: interplay is the keyword here! Then the hypnotic and almost Monkian "Chant". "Clara's room" and "For Duke" are beautiful romantic tracks, well worth the "Bill Evans Tradition first prize", even if a bit "spicier"; Bill, with players like this your heritage is definitely not going to get lost, for sure. "Svengali" acts as a different "flavour dispenser" for 9 minutes. "TMI" gets you back to the contemporary street sounds, in a freesque start that introduces a bluesy, oblique approach to the tune. "Ancestor" is, to me, a "run against the passing time", sort of "A day in the life" jazz version. Don't get me wrong: we're talking no Beatles (God bless'em) nor muzak, here; simply listen to the 200 mph Ben Allison and Jeff Ballard bass/drum lines and tell me that you are not thinking about monday morning at 8:00 o'clock. The Ben Allison and Jeff Ballard "artistic shares" are 33% each, here, with fellow leader Frank. Not a word more about these two monsters, but just an invitation, instead, to check out the Jazz Composers Collective impressive body of work. If you are still into the "intro, theme, solo, reprise, coda" phase you will possibly not like it at the first hearing, but give it a bit of time, please. Something else. Something else."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1