Here’s a great concept for an album, and it’s done just right. Reedman Geof Bradfield puts together a musical suite that is a tribute to Melba Liston, who made her mark as a section trombonist, but more importantly as an arranger for Randy Weston. The team of Bradfield with Victor Garcia/tp-fh, Joel Adams/tb, Jeff parker/g, Ryan Cohan/p, clark sommers/b and Deorge Fludas/dr create moods ranging from bebop joints in LA (“Central Avenue”) to Afro Cuban celebrations (“Randy Weston”). Adams’ trombone testifies like a street preacher on “Kansas City Child,” and the highly hip piano works as cooking trio on “Homecoming” which serves as an audible travelogue through the sounds of Liston’s life. Bradfield himself has a rich tenor sound on his introduction to “Detroit/Kingdom” and his bass clarinet percolates on “Randy Weston.” Vocalist Maggie Burrell closes this set with a lovely reading of some lyrics with piano and bass, making this disc end like a well written novel. Salute!
Origin Records