A multiplicity of trios in various combinations…
For his debut album, Kendall Carter grinds the organ with a hip little trio with drummer Kenny Phelps and guitarist Dave Stryker, who honed his chops with B3er Jack McDuff. The album digs deep rivulets, mixing and matching blues, boogie and shuffles to a perfect stew. Carter’s tone is 
confident and bold, blowing hard on “Punjabi Affair” and creates wondrous fogs on “That’s All.” Stryker’s lines are as well tailored as a Versace suit on “Lawns” and the delicate “Beatrice” with Phelps laying down the lay on the pumper “Blues For Kendall” and the red hot “Speedball”. Lots of soul is heard on “Lovely Day” and a take of “Afro Blue” is dark and urgent. Low ceilinged smoke sessions.
Here’s an intriguing and unorthodox trio combo-tesnor sax (mostly) via Jon Bentley, electric guitar from Tony Wilson and Peggy Lee anchoring the team with her cello. There are 18, count ‘em, 18 tunes, so you get a lot of little vignettes and a handful of full compositions. Of the latter, the title piece has a gently and artsy swing with warm tenor sound from Bentley, yearning reed and bopping cello team with rich guitar work on “Joe’s Theme” with finger snapping bop tones produced on “Just Saying”. The more concise tunes include jagged edges on “Chasing The Bird”, scratches and clawing on “Cloaks of Coax” and lovely lyricism on “Highway of Tears”. Percussive problems are resolved by Lee’s bow on “Time Waited” and “Fweeo Walks By” with effects stretched out on “Your Bet”. Playful tones.
Pianist and composer Richard X Bennett teams up with Adam Armstrong/b and Julian Edmond/dr for a “traditional” jazz trio with untraditional directions. His fingers gallop with exciting drummer on “I Come From The Future” and produces rich chords on pieces like “This Is My Code” and the bopping “Laughing Lion” while “North Atlantic” thunders to cataclysmic effect. Dashes of impressionism a la Satie are heard along with melodica on “Vape” and over the busy drums of “Plastique” while blues hues are captured by Armstrong with his line on the clippety clack of “Made From Stone” and the dark toned “Tum Hi Ho”. Clever fingers.
Guitarist Will St. Peter brings his #2 pencil toned guitar together with Steven Heffner/b and Steve Barnes/dr for a mix of originals and overlooked originals. The focus here is on pastel tones, with a gentle coolness of mood on “Days of Wine and Roses” and the sleekly polished “Tangerine”. Barnes and Heffner do some rich interplay during Ornette Coleman’s “Turnaround” and create a somber pace on the guitarist’s “Driftwood”. St. Peter gives some rich solo work not unlike Joe Pass on a lyrical read of “I’ll Be Seeing You” and adds special effects around Heffner’s bass work on “Authenticity”, supplying wondrous chords for his solo on a sublime take of Alec Wilder’s “Blackberry Winter”. Sepia panoramas.
Along with piano, leader Sean Michael Giddings plays harmonium, whammy clav as well as some orchestral programming with his team of Sam Pankey/b and Daniel Dufour/dr. The orchestrations are rich and graceful, as on the waltzing “Opening Scene” (featuring Pankey) and the pretty and poetic “Sonata”. Some New Orleans pulses have Giddings hitting the chords hard on “White Claw” and he gives a rich romantic piano intro to “Agafia”. The leader shows a soft touch on the lovely “Unfinished Moon” and dark shades of Monk, guided by Dufour’s sticks on “Vienna”. Giddings bops nicely on a duet with the bassist on “Red Willow” cascades with his team on “Bonnie”. Modern arrangements of musical furniture.