Smoke Session Records has been releasing some wonderful concert material from their NYC jazz club. These latest trio feature some sharp fingered pianists in three different formats, trio, quartet and quintet. What more could you want?
Cyrus Chestnut is an ordained minister, and the church is in session here on a hip revival meeting with Curtis Lundy/b and Victor Lewis/dr. Chestnut does some wonderful fingerwork on solo intros to pieces such as “Chelsea Bridge” before the rest of the congregation joins in. The sermon gets preached on bluesy takes of “Bags Groove” and “UMMG” and they start rolling in the aisles with hands raised as the crowd gets slain in the spirit on a healing service take of “Giant Steps.” John Hicks’ “Naima’s Love Song” comes across like a spiritual, and the hat is passed around by the closing “The Theme.” Great service!
Son of a minister, Eric Reed also gets the gospel into the grooves along with Seamus Blake/sax, Ben Williams/b and Gregory Hutchinson/dr for a collection of (mostly) originals from the pilgrim. Except for the cooking and concise “The Gentle Giant” which as the trio sizzling for almost 4 minutes, all the tunes are with Blake, who uses his Coltrane-influenced tone to wonders on pieces such as the dramatic”Powerful Paul Robeson” and the snapping “Bopward.” The rhythm section team works wonders on “Una Mujer Elegante” and the title track is one that will stir up the congregation to get on its feet and look for a tambourine to hit. Amen!
Orrin Evans made his name as a sideman for Bobby Watson, and here, he makes his name stand out even more as he leads a classic hard bop quintet with JD Allen/ts, Sean Jones/tp, Luques Curtis/b and Bill Stewart/dr. There is a five part “Liberation Blues Suite” that is dedicated to composer Dwayne Burno, whose “Devil Eyes” and “Juanita” are included here and reflect an adroit pen, while Allen’s tenor and Jones’ pungent horn deliver not only some excellent solos in spotlight, but also during some back and forth ping pong matches. Evans’ own “Mumbo Jumbo” is a finger snapper, and his trio of trios that close the show display digital acuity, with Joanna Pascale’s vocals on “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes” a pleasurable encore.
Smoke Session Records