Duke Pearson Trio - Profile (1959/2021) [Hi-Res]

Profile is the debut album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, featuring performances by Pearson with Gene Taylor and Lex Humphries. It was recorded in 1959 and released the same year on the Blue Note label. Like the following Tender Feelin’s, Profile has been released singularly on CD only in Japan by Blue Note/EMI. However, at present, it can be found on the twofer Profile & Tender Feelin’s – Duke Pearson Trio issued by Fresh Sound Records in May 2011. Duke dedicated this album to his mother, Emily Pearson, “the one responsible for my coming this far”.
This 1960 recording is pianist Duke Pearson's first as a leader and his first of many recordings for the Blue Note label. It's a simple piano trio date with bassist Gene Taylor and drummer Lex Humphries that sticks mostly to the standard repertoire.
In the original liner notes Ira Gitler describes Pearson's stint playing trumpet in the Army band in the early 50's. There Pearson met pianist Wynton Kelly with whom he was so impressed that Pearson decided to switch back to his childhood instrument, piano.
Kelly's influence on Pearson's piano playing is obvious here, as is the influence of another contemporary, Red Garland. Pearson plays with a carefully dynamic touch that swings easily and he seems to find opportunities to inject blues into almost any circumstance. Unfortunately on this early recording he also lacks some of the taste and maturity for which pianists like Kelly and Garland are celebrated. Pearson's phrasing is often long, rambling, and unclear and he often forgets to allow space to breathe (surprising considering he was trumpet player!). Though he swings fairly well for the most part, occasionally the time feels a bit stiff and it often leads to some fumbled notes. Taylor's bass playing is fine, but Humphries' drumming often sounds uninspired and he mostly sticks to his monotonous swing patterns with little variation or interplay.
By far the most memorable track is "Taboo," a somewhat obscure Cuban tune by Margarita Lecuona. The head stands out from the others with Humphries juxtaposing an Afro-Cuban 6/8 percussion pattern with the lyrical melody played by Pearson. The switch from Afro-Cuban to swing is sudden and effective and Humphries sounds a bit more interested in the solos on this take. Pearson still has a few trip-ups in his solo but it's still probably his best on the record. The album's standards all have slight twists to their arrangements which are nice to hear, but mostly suffer from rather lackluster solos.
Overall Pearson's debut isn't quite up to the standards set by his influences and contemporaries. There are a few points where he shows quite a bit of promise in this recording, but the record is pretty inconsistent as a whole. It's obvious Pearson's sound was still maturing.