Cyrus Chestnut - Midnight Melodies (2014) CD Rip

31 Mar, 20:53
change text size:

Artist: Cyrus Chestnut
Title: Midnight Melodies
Year Of Release: 2014
Label: Smoke Sessions Records [SSR-1408]
Genre: Jazz, Post Bop
Quality: FLAC (tracks + .cue,log,scans)
Total Time: 77:29
Total Size: 459 MB(+3%)
WebSite: Album Preview

Tracklist

01. Two Heartbeats (Hicks) - 4:55
02. Pocket Full of Blues (Hicks) - 4:10
03. To Be Determined (Chestnut) - 5:11
04. Bag's Groove (Jackson) - 6:58
05. Hey, It's Me You're Talkin' To (Lewis) - 7:16
06. Chelsea Bridge (Strayhorn) - 7:22
07. U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group) (Strayhorn) - 8:33
08. I Wanted to Say (Lewis) - 8:35
09. Giant Steps (Coltrane) - 6:39
10. Naima's Love Song (Hicks) - 14:29
11. The Theme (Davis) - 3:21

personnel :

Cyrus Chestnut - piano
Curtis Lundy - bass
Victor Lewis - drums

Elegance and economy characterize Cyrus Chestnut's art. Chestnut's career was the one Kenny Kirkland could have had had Kirkland's fate been different. Chestnut (and Evans and Reed) represent the generation given way to with the passings of Mulgrew Miller and Cedar Walton. Chestnut is a keeper of the flame, a lyrical and expressive pianist who likes to use notes in sculpting songs. Midnight Melodies was recorded November 22 & 23, 2013 at New York City's Smoke Jazz Club as part of the club's "Smoke Sessions," an endeavor patterned after the brother NYC club, Smalls' "Smalls Live."
Chestnut leads a trio comprised of bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis through three originals (one by Chestnut and two by Lewis) and eight standards. Looming large on Chestnuts horizon was the late pianist John Hicks whose playing was comparable in it elegance and careful choice of themes. Chestnut introduces the recording with Hicks' "Two Heartbeats" and "Pocketful of Blues," ending the performance with the lengthy "Naima's Love Song" expertly chosen to follow a Bud Powell infused reading of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Chestnut plays with great brio and confidence, wasting no notes, while honoring the sonic palette of Coltrane.
For ballads, Chestnut chose Billy Strayhorn. "Chelsea Bridge" sports a lengthy solo piano introduction that probes the corners of Strayhorn's quiet sensibility when the trio gels at the 2-minute mark. It is an easy swing with Lewis' sensitive brushes laying out a plush center. Chestnut follows that with an eight-minute workout on Strayhorn's "UMMG (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)." The pianist closes the disc with Miles Davis' "The Theme" in a fitting tribute. Chestnut is all taste and class in this present performance—at the top of his game.~C. Michael Bailey

EAC Log

MY BLOG

IsraCloud