Search - Jon Mayer :: My Romance

Stellar acoustic , swinging jazz trio!!

Noah Young | Kansas City, Missouri | 07/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So many labels for music these days and so little time (to pay attention to them all)! These three musicians are, in the truest sense of the word/phrase: improvising jazz musicians! what a welcome relief as so many kinds of music still pretend to the mantle known as the art of improvisation = aka, jazz. Pianist Mayer plays some of the most lyrical/romantic and "full" chord patterns I've heard in some time. Bassist Reid doesn't do anything "fancy" on this disc (thank goodness!); i'm really worn out by bassists-of-the-month trying to impress with either minimalist playing or playing the "how many notes can i fit into a measure??" style. Bassist Reid knows what's important in playing the bass and adds a dimension to this trio I haven't heard in some time; his playing is both technically impressive (without ego) and warm with feeling. Drummer Dick Berk, whose credits are a literal "who's who?" of jazz, over decades of creative and swinging playing, contributes, like bassist Reid, a feeling that simply propels the music into a rarely heard realm of listenable and totally enjoyable music that contains some very unique approaches to several of the classic tunes on the cd.And how nice it was to hear a drummer who knows how to use a vastly underused tool of the drummer's trade: brushes!! The recorded sound is nothing short of excellent and the ambiance is wonderful. This is a well balanced program of slow-medium-up tempo tunes and there isn't a bum one in the entire album. These three folks are real musicians, always in tune and tuning in to each other; the empathy is evident throughout. I could single out specific tunes for this and that; suffice to say, if you consider yourself a jazz fan and/or lover of piano-led acoustic trios, this effort will guarantee a smile on your face and some toe-tapping and melody recognition faster than you can say "How do you get to Carnegie Hall??!" This trio cooks!!"