Trio time…
Guitarist Steve Knight leads a modern but bopping trio through a mix of originals and covers on this album that is reminiscent of vintage Grant Green. Knight’s tone is similar to Greens with its #2 pencil width, running through Pat Martino’s “So What-ish “Cisco” or bluesy on the shuffling “Just Add Meaning”. He rides Stitley’s funky beat well on “Real Type Thing” and jams over the tapping cymbals for “Chop Chop” strolling well on “Mary Jane’s Last Dance”, while pulsing like a jogger with Peterson on “Persistance”. Casual corners.
The unorthodox trio of trombonist JC Sanford, bassist Charlie Lincoln and drummer Abinnet Berhanu show how to create new sounds while still keeping in the bop tradition. Sanford’s got a big sized tone, and uses it well over Berhanu’s crisp drumming on the snappy “Fried Bananas” while he weaves around Lincoln’s rich bass line on the sublime “Ceora”. A couple Ornette Coleman tunes make things frisky, as Sanford hovers like a space craft on the gurgling “Lonely Woman” and getting bluesy on “Turnaround”. He’s desolate on “Willow Weep For Me” and subdued for a fun take of a swinging yet soft “Isn’t She Lovely”. Brassy attacks.
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