Three of a kind always beats a pair…
One of the most lyrical bopping pianists, and yet never getting the accolades he deserves, is Alan Broadbent. Consistently consistent, this latest album with Harvie S/b and Billy Mintz/dr is a workshop for style, swing and class.
Mintz is a work of art here, giving a hip hi-hat as a foundation for Broadbent’s warm fingers around S’s bass line on “This I Dig Of You” while his brushes skate like Dorothy Hamill on”with the Wind And The Rain In Your Hair”. Broadbent is elegant on “Stairway To The Stars” and bops around Mintz on “Airgin” suavely sambaing through “Blue Pearl”. The team taps into their deep roots on a timeless take of “Yardbird Suite” with all stablemates getting a moment in the spotlight, but, like the best of umpires, you never notice them until you realize how easily everything went down.
Drummer Dana Fitzsimons forms a piano trio with Bill Graham and bassist Brandon Boone through a collection of mostly originals. He gives ample opportunities to his bandmates, as Boone stretches out magnificently on solo and melody on Paul Motian’s “It Should’ve Happened a Long Time Ago” and Graham shining brightly for “Where Or When. The leader sets a rapid pace on the nifty “Slant Anagrams” and rocks it out for “Number Six”, digging into a relentless paradiddle groove on “Weeble Wobbles”. The three work well on the restless “Agitation Lullabye” and do rich work on a reflective read of Joni Mitchell’s “Amelia”.