Three is not a crowd…
Pianist Taurey Butler sounds like he was weaned by the ivories of Gene Harris on this soulfully swinging session with bassist Morgan Moore and drummer Walt Muhammed. The team joyfully struts through shufflers like ”One Of The Others” and gets greasy for Moore on the blueser “Nutfog”. The church is never far away for the hand raising “On The Natch” and “Sisyphean Task” while Muhammed jabs and pokes on a clever read of “What Is This Thing Called Love” and uses his brushes deftly for “I Can Only Be Me”. Butler has a wide read with his fingers on the striding “Swappin’ Lies” and is glassy on “Smile”. The toes are tapping!
The team of guitarist Olli Hirvonen, bassist Marty Kenney and drummer Nathan Ellman-Bell gives a collection of folksy moods of mostly originals on this casual release. Olli’s strings are lonely on the rich title tune, strumming on the moody and dark “Unceasing” and bringing in effects on the restless “Vegas”. He picks a clippetty clop groove with the band on “Placeholder” and digs a deep groove with Kenney on the deep “Outline”, rocking for “Erode”. Informal strings.
Yosef Gutman Levitt plays an acoustic bass guitar with intriguing results with pianist Omri Mor and drummer Ofri Nehemy”” on this collection of rich Mediterranean originals. The high strings are lithe on “Jericho” and graceful teamed with Mor on “Time With Abba”. Reaching lower, Gutman gets resonant on “Twelve Stones” and Appalachian for “Joshua”. Mor is stately for “Arise” and yearns on “Poltova”. Tender mercies from the Holy Land.