Ken Serio - Brooklyn Oasis (2024)

For those not familiar with drummer Ken Serio and his incredible diversity over the past three decades, Bill Milkowski’s richly insightful liner notes are absolutely essential reading. While in the jazz world he’s been centered these past seven years with this innovative trio of guitarist Sinan Bakir and bassist Jedd Chlebowski, he’s also a member of the rock. pop and R&B group Ten Directions (with Mark Egan and Faye Green) and The Jazz Warriors, which focus on Latin and world music and funk-fusion.

Featuring his core trio joined by tenor saxman Dave Mullen, pianist Tomoko Ohno and legendary, always game bassist Ron Carter, Serio’s latest pure jazz venture, the provocatively, scene setting titled album Brooklyn Oasis, is - with the exception of a few glorious heartfelt ballads - a frolicsome, continuously poppin’ swingfest.

From his snappy, turbocharged, even funky romp through McCoy Tyner’s “Changes” through the sultry, sensual exotica of “Dindi” and coolly sassy, breezily sashaying vibe of “Skylark,” the sextet showcases its exciting and effortless way with colorfully and artfully arranged standards. Ditto the sparkling, whimsical magic they bring to their bursting at the seams version of “Oceans in the Sky” and the punchy, furious and funked-out edginess they pour into Lyle Mays’ “Hard Eights.”

Yet the deeper emotional passion of the winsome collection comes from two originals, starting with the thoughtful, meditative “Brooklyn Oasis,” which was penned by and features Ohno’s cool piano dazzle, with Serio playing mallets on toms (an inspired choice!) and a power-packed, resonant tenor solo by Mullen. The saxophonist showcases an even deeper side of his artistry on “For Michael,” a gorgeous, spacious ballad he composed in tribute to his chief influence, the late great Michael Brecker.

The only way to describe it is the way Milkowski does so eloquently, saying it “unfolds like a prayer.” Rhythmically, everything here, from the subtle sensual moments to the feisty barn burning swing, is driven by Serio and his special guest Carter, whom the drummer invited after seeing a documentary about the bassist on PBS. It took a while but when Carter agreed, he elevated the rest of the ensemble – and perhaps not coincidentally, created a full circle moment for Serio, who recorded the legend’s “Eighty One” on his first album as a bandleader, Tomorrow’s Another Day, in 1996.