Trioism
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Beat Degeneration
Sunnyside
It is surprising that there is no applause present after any tune but the last on Kenny Werner's Beat Degeneration (Sunnyside). The CD's seven Werner compositions were selected from nine sets of performances at the Sunside Club in Paris in November 2000...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
On the Road
Trio
The very accomplished veteran Junior Mance's On the Road (Trio) contains selections from three February 2002 U.K. concert performances. Mance is still in fine form with all of his musical attributes intact. Producer/engineer/bassist Andrew Cleyndert has...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Live at Keystone Korner
HighNote Records
The press release for Mary Lou Williams' Live at the Keystone Korner (High Note) correctly states that there is a dearth of recordings currently available by this major artist. Unfortunately, the recording quality of this 1977 performance is not up to the...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Latin Tinge
HighNote Records
Cedar Walton must be regarded as the most accomplished of these pianist leaders. Walton has performed on hundreds of records and written many tunes that entered the standard repertoire or should enter it. There is no shortage of currently available recordings...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Innocence of Youth
Fresh Sound New Talent
Xavier Davis' Innocence of Youth (Fresh Sound New Talent) features seven of his tunes, another by his brother Quincy, Tom Harrell's "Bell" and Miles Davis' "Milestones," an underrecorded bop masterpiece. (Xavier Davis was previously employed by Harrell and...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
New York Trio
Criss Cross Jazz
Dutch pianist Peter Beets cites several great pianists as influences in the liner notes to New York Trio (Criss Cross), but the influence of Cedar Walton and Bud Powell are most discernable here. The song forms of the six originals and three standards are...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Fingers and Toes
Summit
The Boston-based Sai Ghose Trio's second recording, Fingers and Toes (Summit), contains the best cover photograph of any of these, a touching picture of the foot of a baby cradled between the thumb and forefinger of an adult. The titles of the seven original...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Checking In
Soul Note
Greg Burk's Checking In (Soul Note) consists of 10 of the pianist's compositions and includes veteran drummer Bob Moses and bassist Jon Robinson. Burk's pianistic style is personal and generally does not display obvious influences, although the opener "Sun...
January/February 2003 By John Schu
Alabastro
Golden Dome
Brazilian pianist Age Garcia recently moved to South Florida, where he recorded Alabastro (Golden Dome), which consists of 10 of his compositions. The performances are short, from 3:16 to 4:52. There is minimal jazz content here and little interaction between...
January/February 2002 By Bill Bennett
McCoy Tyner Plays John Coltrane
Impulse!
On Sept. 23, 1997, which would have been John Coltrane's 71st birthday, McCoy Tyner took the stage at the Village Vanguard with bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster. Four years later, we have the results: McCoy Tyner Plays John Coltrane (Impulse 3134...
