Label:
Source: Dusted Magazine
Genre: Piano Trio
GAB's Rating: ★★★★☆
A
decorated veteran of the Wynton Wars when a neo-conservative wing of the music seemed
poised to usurp the popular jazz consciousness of the late-1980s, pianist Cyrus
Chestnut came out the other side relatively unscathed with a style and
directive clearly his own. It’s one steeped in the gospel church traditions of
his native Baltimore, but also enlivened by an open ear aimed at a multitude of
other influences. Valuable tenures with vocalists Jon Hendricks and especially
Betty Carter further expanded his playbook with the added assets of a steady supply
of encomia and awards. Several decades distant from his original ascendancy,
Chestnut’s keyboard skills are still sharp and discerning as Natural Essence, his second album under
the HighNote mantle, makes abundantly clear.
Chestnut’s
history as a prodigy with a slew of jazz-based scholarships and later first
call appointments in the Lincoln Center Jazz and Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestras
and Dizzy Gillespie Big Band weigh lightly on this session of like-minded
players. Bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White are both veterans in
their own right, having graced hundreds of sessions between them. Chestnut is
their junior by twenty-one and thirteen years respectively, but he assumes the
mantle of leader without the least bit of trepidation. The nine tune program is
a predictable assemblage of standards joined by with one each from the sidemen
and two from Chestnut.
The
fusion side of White’s chops honed during his time as drummer for Weather
Report come into prominence on the opening groove-friendly rendering of Joe
Henderson’s “Mamacita”. His string of boisterous breaks thread through a fat
stream of funk that’s further buttressed by Williams round, rubberized sound. “It
Could Happen to You” finds Chestnut folding in some Japanese inflections into
his phrasing of the melody and a lush, resounding solo from Williams works as
another highpoint. “I Cover the Waterfront” and “My Romance” don’t reveal much
in the way of fresh material, but the trio tackles both with an equal
opportunity attitude toward their viability as jumping off points for
efficacious interplay.
The
first of the Chestnut pieces, “Faith Amongst the Unknown” works off a
reverberating bass ostinato, swirling cymbal splashes and malleted accents as
foundation for the composer’s lissome right hand leads. “I Remember” also
relies heavily on the strong agreement between Williams and White with Chestnut
free to explore the gilded theme at length without the need to worry about
shoring up any lapses in support. Once again his right hand works minor melodic
wonders. White’s “Dedication” steers the band back into ballad territory,
germinating from a delicate repeating piano figure into a quiet bloom of
three-way confluence while Williams’ “Toku-Do” gives its composer ample room to
flex and flaunt his strings. A brisk incursion into Gigi Gryce’s “Minority”
carries the set to a satisfying conclusion. Derek Taylor
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