These Are Soulful Days - 4335

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Amazon.com Always an effusive pianist with a relentlessly melodic approach, Benny Green celebrates Blue Note's 60th Anniversary by culling eight tunes from the label's back catalog and cutting loose with a drummerless trio that includes former cohorts Russell Malone on guitar and bassist Christian McBride. The harmonic rapport of Green and Malone is immediately apparent in their exacting unison lines to open Horace Silver's "Virgo," which also features McBride's resonant bow work. No longer a wunderkind, the 36-year-old Green solos with youthful intensity (check the dynamic force of "Bellarosa") but also showcases his ensemble maturity by shouldering some of the rhythmic duty and giving Malone ample space to explore a more kinetic side of his muse. Malone's chords, Green's left hand, and McBride's yeoman time-keeping provide plenty of percussive context. Saving the best for last, the trio returns to Silver for a bluesy "Come On Home" that inspires Malone into perhaps the most commanding uptempo passages of his career thus far. --Britt Robson Review As part of the celebration commemorating Blue Note's 60th year, pianist Benny Green chose his set list from original compositions by artists affiliated with the label's halcyon days. Smartly sidestepping any overplayed fare, Green's trio of guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Christian McBride tackles tunes that have faded unjustifiably into relative obscurity. Reviving such finely tuned compositions as these serves as a reminder that a wealth of exquisite material exists beyond the realm of overplayed fake books. As tunes such as Joe Henderson's "Punjab," Horace Silver's "Come on Home," and Lee Morgan's "Hocus-Pocus" come alive again decades after their initial recording, Green takes them one step further with thoughtfully enhanced arrangements. Use of flashy guitar-piano unisons, plenty of stop time (emphasized with the lack of drums), and alternating two-beat/four-beat bass lines ensure optimal interpretation. Members of this trio have excellent command of their respective instruments. Unfortunately, heavy chops can lead to pitfalls. Green's two-handed runs in octave unison (on Silver's "Virgo") and Malone's sixteenth-note bursts of double-time (on Calvin Massey's "These Are Soulful Days") - albeit amazing from a technical standpoint - border on grandstanding. McBride alone resists temptation to do likewise simply because he can. These fleeting moments aside, sparks fly throughout this exciting, well-played set. And as prime examples of taste and sensitivity, several beautiful ballads (Bobby Hutcherson's "Summer Nights," Dexter Gordon's "Ernie's Tune") receive spacious treatment, emphasizing the maturity that is already theirs. --James Rozzi, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc. -- From Jazziz
ASIN: B00000J85T
VSKU: COV.B00000J85T.N
Condition: New