A
genuine artist follows the strict demands of his muse rather than any set of
conventional expectations. If, thirty-plus years into his celebrated career,
the pianist and composer Frank Kimbrough decided to record his first album
featuring the traditional jazz instrumentation of piano, horn, bass, and drums,
there had to be a good reason. Quartet (Palmetto Records, PM2173), featuring
alto and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson, drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Jay
Anderson, proves that for a relentlessly creative musician such as Kimbrough,
following one's instincts offers up the best results.
Despite the surface
familiarity of its ensemble format, Quartet (Kimbrough's 12th album as a leader
and 7th for Palmetto) displays the pianist and his handpicked team at their
most adventurous, creating music that revels in improvisational freedom while
making fruitful use of the still profitable tools of the jazz tradition. Seven
characteristically personal Kimbrough originals share space with exceptional
reinterpretations of Kurt Weill's "Trouble Man," Rodgers and Hart's
"It Never Entered My Mind" and John Lewis's "Afternoon In Paris."
The
exemplary balance of introspective lyricism and spiky, open form improvising
that has marked Kimbrough's musical approach in his acclaimed work with, among
many others, Maria Schneider, Ben Allison, Ted Nash and Noah Preminger, lends
Quartet its distinguishing yin/yang atmosphere of ease and daring. "The
Call," "Blue Smoke," "Kudzu," "Herbivore" and "Ode"
slip, slide and swing, evading strict time and rigid harmonic forms, inspiring
telepathic group interplay and biting solos, while the original ballads
"November" and "Beginning" offer stunningly unpredictable
melodic statements from Kimbrough and Wilson and sensitively prodding support
from Nash and Anderson. And while "It Never Entered My Mind" and
"Trouble Man" demonstrate that Kimbrough and company admire the
exquisite compositional architecture of the masters, the quartet's take on
"Afternoon In Paris" offers up a loose and stimulating deconstruction
of John Lewis's standard. As Kimbrough devotees might note, "Ode"
previously appeared on his Lullabluebye album, while "Beginning"
debuted on Play, which featured the iconic drummer Paul Motian.
"Herbivore" was written in the 1990s for Kimbrough's Noumena band but
went unheard until this recording.
Kimbrough's
exceptional playing throughout Quartet fully demonstrates the maturity of a
seasoned musician who, having fully assimilated such signal influences as Paul
Bley, Andrew Hill and Shirley Horn, is able to express himself organically in
his own, now distinctive, instrumental voice. "As I've grown over the
years, I find that I want to move listeners, not impress them," Kimbrough
states. "By now the piano is who I am. I don't want technique to be a
liability - I want to be able to convey what's in the moment. To be honest, to
be vulnerable in my playing is what I'm most interested in."
"I
chose the musicians on this recording because I trust their judgment. From the
first note they play you can feel the depth, the lyricism, the respect for
musical space they all have. Between us there's over two hundred years of
experience - you have to trust that. I've found as a leader that the more freedom
you give players to be themselves, the more of themselves they will put into
the music."
The
roots of Quartet extend back to the late 1970s when Kimbrough and Nash met as
students at Arizona State University. Three decades passed until Kimbrough and
the now-omnipresent drummer reunited as players in Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans
Project. Steve Wilson and Jay Anderson - both men A-list jazz figures - also
participated as members of that ensemble, continuing associations with
Kimbrough that included working together in the acclaimed Maria Schneider
Orchestra. As a linchpin in the pianist's various trios, Anderson has been a
close associate of Kimbrough for over twenty years.
Frank
Kimbrough has recorded twelve albums as a leader and has co-led recordings with
duet partner Joe Locke and with the Herbie Nichols Project. He has appeared on
over sixty-five albums with other artists, including Maria Schneider's 2013
Grammy-winning Winter Morning Walks. Kimbrough has been on the faculty of the
Juilliard School of Music since 2008.
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