Search - Larry Goldings :: Quartet

Breaking Out of the B-3 Box

Bret Sexton | 04/02/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having been a fan of Larry Golding's B-3 playing for years, I was skeptical of his switch to piano for most of this recording. I was pleasantly suprised to find something unique and unusual in place of the typical B-3 burning of his earlier recordings. Much of the album has a very introspective feel, not unlike the trio albums of Brad Mehldau. But he also explores many different genre's without losing focus and cohesion within the band. They tackle Monk's "Jackie-ing" with an interesting arrangement. There's also "Dario and Bario" that sounds like a Nino Rota soundtrack. "Hesitation Blues" with Madeleine Peryoux has a very down-home feel, not unlike most of Peryoux's albums. Then they cover Bjork's "Cocoon," giving it an atmosphere reminiscent of an 1970's ECM record.The album ends with a version of the spiritual "We Shall Overcome," it's introspection suggests that what we have to overcome may be within ourselves. There's no firey B-3 blazing on this album, but it takes on a whole different area in jazz. Thank you Larry for breaking out of the box and trying something new."

No hesitation blues!

Dr.D.Treharne | Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom | 11/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although "Hesitation Blues" is probably the most accessible track on this album, it's also notable for the ensemble work that permeates all the tracks. In addition to Goldings who plays a whole gamut of keyboards (including an accordion) the support from Ben Allison on Bass, Matt Wilson on drums and percussion and especially John Sneider on trumpet and cornet plays a crucial part in making this such a satisfactory project. It's perhaps unfortunate that they chose one of the improvisations to open the album, as casual listeners might find this a 'difficult' start, however it's worth persevering even if some of the composers names might suggest that this is the essential undercurrent throughout the album. It isn't! My own favourites are the group take on Abdullah Ibrahim's "The Wedding"(some great interplay between trumpet and organ), the groups take on Bjork's "Cocoon" and especially Gabriel Faure's "Au Bord de l'eau". It's a radical departure from what Goldings has done in a group setting before, and a far cry from some of the session work he's been involved in during 2006. Nonetheless after prolonged and intense listening over a fairly long period of time I'd have absolutely no hesitation in recommending it to anyone. It'll also feature somewhere in my top 10 CD's of 2006, whatever the genre that you might try to place it in."