The trio of Larry Goldings/B3, Peter Bernstein/g and Bill Stewart/dr have been together and jamming in the LA scene for quite some time, and this latest release shows the benefits of long term friendships. The underlying blues permeate much of the material, as Goldings creates an oozy bedrock on “Blue Sway” and “Roach” while taking the forefront on the ruminating and pensive take of Horace Silver’s “Peace”. Bernstein delivers some delicately subtle musings here, opening up on his own “Simple as That’ and spotlighting his lyricism on “Useless Metaphor.” The whole team coalesces with some elegant grooving on Tom Jobim’s “Luiza” and gets into the nuance of “Sweet and Lovely” by bringing out various hues like a light reflecting various parts of a painting. Softly smoking.
Pirouet Records