Andrew Cheshire - Water Street Revival (1998)

Cheshire, clearly a jazz cat (from Long Island,) plays guitar with reverence to the Blue Note stable of musicians on this disc that is cut-and-pasted from four different sessions. They are older sessions that were in the can, featuring different bands, all with excellent back-up musicians. They showcase Cheshire's sparse, mostly untreated electric and acoustic sound, he's shown on the cover art with an acoustic twelve string. But it's not so much Cheshire displaying chops, speed and virtuosity that is the focal point of this, what Cheshire calls an "archival" document. It's the group sound they are trying to attain. The first four selections from 1991 have the band sounding like some fantasy combination of Grant Green, Bobby Hutcherson and McCoy Tyner. The title track, an anthem like proud "Our World," the cool waltz "Search For Truth" and the hard swinging "Sanashi" reflect this Blue Note-type appraoch, with a brilliant combo of Cheshire, vibist Byran Carrott and pianist James Weidman working in unison on the melodies, nailing it, while bassist Lonnie Plaxico and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith play rhythms as good as gold. Then four pieces from June, 1990 with a trio featuring bassist Marcus McLaurine and drummer Greg Bandy show the guitarists quiet restlessness. Solos are fine but composition is the most important factor. The next three cuts from a March, 1990 studio date has Weidman returning in a quartet with bassist Tyler Mitchell and drummer Yoron Israel. The urgent version of Cole Porter's "I Love You" and a fast paced "Odessa" hear the guitarist stretching and interacting with the rhythm section more. The finale, a solo acoustic guitar piece "When I'm With You," is one Charlie Byrd would be proud of. Cheshire wrote 12 of the 13 cuts, and by the time of their release, were perhaps overly familiar to the leader. Maybe he is not enamored with this work as his more recent efforts. Still, this is a very good compilation of his music in those earlier times, and an indication that a fresh new voice on his instrument is blossoming.