The annotator’s tongue-in-cheek put-down announces up front that this recording will be different. Its distinctiveness becomes evident as one progressively notices that the entire CD, regardless of the tune being played, seems to be a series of improvised variations on Monk’s “Epistrophy.” Long-time Harry Connick, Jr., tenorist Goold has cited Monk as a favorite and included an arrangement of the tune in his previous album. A warm sound and an easy sense of swing support Goold’s expansive melodic imagination. Bassist Ben Wolfe (Connick, Wynton Marsalis) and drummer Don Zelonis round out this cohesive trio.
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