April 1997

Valery Ponomarev
Live at Vartan Jazz
Vartan Jazz

By Sunsh Stein

The lessons of Art Blakey travel far and wide as disciples like trumpeter Valery Ponomarev carry the musical word. Ponomarev fronts a lively full-bodied quintet, and lucky for him and us, Ben Riley fills this particular drum seat. Ponomarev's brash, rough around the edges lead on "Autumn In New York" gives the tune a wintry feel rather than one of warm autumnal longing. This tight knit group is a crowd pleaser.