Year: 2007
Record Label: Strong Brew Music
Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic
Musicians: Terrence Brewer (guitar), Kasey Knudsen (saxophones), Ben Stolorow (keyboards), Ravi Abcarian (acoustic bass), Micah McClain (drums)
Review: Alameda, California guitarist and composer Terrence Brewer has led his own instrumental and vocal groups in gigs throughout CA. He has performed with Pete Escovedo and Herb Gibson.
Quintessential, his third release as a leader, features him leading his quintet. He is joined on saxophones by Kasey Knudsen (BA, Berklee College of Music), keyboardist Ben Stolorow (BA, U.C. Berkeley), bassist Ravi Abcarian (work with Chico Freeman, Joshua Redman, Sonny Simmons, and Mark Turner), and drummer Micah McClain (work with Red Rodney, David Baker and James Moody).
The nine tracks were all composed by Brewer in a straight-ahead jazz style with a number of them being used as up-tempo burners. Throughout drummer Micah McClain stands out for his clean time feel, uncluttered fills and energetic driving rhythms. His work on the first cut, “Delightedly Mopey,” is a true delight and his subtle shades of color on “In Search Of Mr. Mofongo” adds to the piece’s wispy nature.
Ravi Abcarian’s bass playing is in total lockstep with McClain. Together the pair makes the most of the music and provide a rock-solid foundation for the rest of the ensemble to not only ground themselves in but push off from.
Standout performances include Stolorow’s marvelous piano solo on “Easy Way Out.” His tasteful use of contrasting motives helps to build the solo to a nice climax. His work on both electric and acoustic keyboards shows a respect for the tradition.
Knudsen’s saxophone playing shows work towards developing a harmonic complexity beyond the norm. She seeks to fuse non-harmonic tones with traditional licks in order to shape a uniquely personal concept.
Brewer’s playing has an unmistakable air of reverence for Wes Montgomery. As so much of the music is up-tempo, he uses this disc, his third as a leader, to show his abundant technique at blazing speeds. His compositions’ melodies have a pleasant lilt to them; nothing flashy or distinctive, more like a friend you’ve known for a long time and are comfortable with.
Tracks: Delightedly Mopey, Blues For Katie, Kismet, Easy Way Out, A-Muse Me, In Search Of Mr. Mofongo, Hymn Of The Humble, Study In Blue and 5 O'Clock
Artist's Website: http://www.terrencebrewer.com/
Reviewed by:
Thomas R. Erdmann
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