Canada’s Cellar Music Group continues to stay on the tried and true of mainstream bop to post bop, and the latest two releases keep the candle glowing.
Pianist Brandon Goldberg along with bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Aaron Kimmel are caught holding the fort at Dizzy’s Club in January of 2023and the swinging is easy. Goldberg does a bit of composing as well, with a bouncy “Unholy Water” and a bopping “Circles” that converses with the bandmates. Goldberg’s touch is reminiscent of guys like Cedar Walton and John Hicks, classy on a bluesy read of “It Ain’t Necessarily” and graceful on “An Affair To Remember” with Wolfe getting some nice lines on ”Wives and Lovers” and Kimmel leading the charge on a hyperventilating “Compulsion”. Shiny ivories.
Chromatic harmonica man Hendrik Meurkens teams up with Ed Cherry/g, Nick Hempton/ts, Steve Ash/p, Chris Berger/b and Andy Watson/dr for some smooth hard bopping classics and originals. He sighs lovingly on “Dreamsville” and bounces with Cherry on “Silver’s Serenade” while Ash adds elegance on the leader’s richly textured “A Lullaby For Benny”. Berger bears down on the hard working “Smada” and Hempton’s big tone powers through a the driving “If I Were A Bell” and snappy “Meurk’s Mood”. Finger poppin’.