Everyone has a style of jazz that got them hooked on the music. Yes, I “got into” fusion, free, swing and traditional, but nothing hit home for me like those glorious albums from Blue Note, Riverside and Fantasy. Muscular and confident, each album was like a friend.
This album is lead by drummer Curtis Nowosad, and he culls together a hard bop heaven team of Jimmy Greene/ts-ss, Derrick Gardner/tp, Steve Kirby/b and Will Bonness/p to work on a fingersnapping mix of standards and originals. Of the former, you get an energetic read of “Speak No Evil” with has Greene’s tenor winder around the tricky groove while he caresses the feisty reading of “I remember You” and the rhythm team gets a nice workout on the kinetic version of Monk’s “Bye-Ya.” Gardner and Bonness are as sweet as cherry pie on the fragrant ballad “ Reconcilitation” while the team shuffles off to Buffalo on a hip “A Casual Test.” Greene shows his ability to glide along the leader’s ride cymbal on ‘ Gleaning and Dreaming” while Gardner taps into his inner Lee Morgan on the muscular title track. Extroverted, confident and filled with vinegar, these guys make jazz fun again.
Cellar Live Records