On this album, Larry Willis confirms that he belongs to the group of pianists (including Cedar Walton, John Hicks, Tommy Flanagan and the recently departed Harold Mabern) that are incapable of playing anything less than tasty bop. There’s always a handful of them around, and the sad fact is that we rarely appreciate them until they are taken away from us. Don’t let this guy slip through your fingers.
This latest session of his features him in a wide variety of settings ranging form solo to quintet and just about everything in between. The core trio includes bassist Blake Meister and drummer Victor Lewis, and the three create rich moods with Meister in the lead on the melancholy “Anna” and Lewis clippetty clopping along as the team sizzles on the leader’s own “Let’s Play”. Jeremy Pelt makes it a quartet as he and Willis slowly undulate on a gorgeously hued “The Meaning Of The Blues.” Alto saxist Joe Ford makes it a full sized quintet, and the team bops like vintage Jazz Messengers on his “Today’s Nights” with Willis in a Tyner toned mood as they all swagger on “Heavy Blue” while “Habiba” features him on the dark keys in a Middle Eastern atmosphere. Everyone steps away to allow Willis all his own, and his patient and spacious read of “I Fall In Love Too Easily” is a gorgeous candle lit aria.
This album is also noted as the final recording at Rudy Van Gelder’s historic studio. Can someone send me a piece of the paneling? I bet you can feel the good vibes.