| Hear
in MP3 format! Where
Were You?
and also Lost
Lost;Where Were You When I Needed You?; El
Bosque;
Pent-Up House; Central Park West; Satellite; The Makings of You;
Serenity; Greene Street Blues; Last Call on the Lower East Side
Pianist Matt Ray has been a fixture on the
New York jazz scene for more than a decade. Lost in New York is
his sophomore effort, the follow up to his critically acclaimed
debut album We Got It!. Here he calls on the talents of two other
creative New York musicians -- drummer Quincy Davis (who's worked
with Tom Harrell's band), and bassist Danton Boller (who has recently
been spotted touring with trumpeter Roy Hargrove).
The trio wends their way through an interesting and compelling set
of music -- effortlessly adapting tunes from a wide variety of sources.
"Lost" is a dark and mysterious Wayne Shorter piece, and
begins with a rolling rubato intro before giving way to a series
of complex harmonies and Wayne's unusual melody. Ray uses his whole
range of improvisational tools on his solo -- from well-crafted
lines, to shifting chord structures. The tune also includes a masterful
bass solo, and a drum solo which is underscored by the bass and
piano playing a series of roots (lowest chord notes) which really
captures the strange and wonderful harmonic movement of Shorter's
composition.
The album includes several tunes adapted from soul artists -- Stevie
Wonder's "Where Were You When I Needed You?" and Curtis
Mayfield's The "Makings of You." There are tinges of gospel
and soul on several other compositions on the CD, most interestingly
on the John Coltrane ballad "Central Park West," which
is given a jazz/soul treatment familiar to fans who bought Matt
Ray's first CD. Still, the album has a number of searching and harmonically
challenging tunes, and Ray makes the most of these opportunities
to show off his ability to navigate difficult chord changes. On
Joe Henderson's Serenity, Ray returns to his trio concept of leaving
as much space as he takes up, which allows his cohorts to fill up
the pauses with their own ideas, and Davis's brush work really shines
here.
There are three original compostions on this CD. "El Bosque"
(The Forest) is an interesting circular composition, with a rock-inflected
middle section. "Greene Street Blues" is an old-fashioned
soul swinger reminiscent of the Ray Brown Trio, and the album closes
with a slow soulful "mo better" blues tune called "Last
Call on the Lower East Side." Also of interest are the album's
liner notes, which are made up of an essay written by the artist
himself detailing the experience of being lost artistically and
personally in the big city. Being lost is apparently a good thing
to Ray, and it shows on this record, as he chooses diverse tastes
in material, and works his way through a series of searching but
well-honed trio improvisations. For those fans of Matt Ray who have
been looking forward to a new recording, the album does not disappoint.
The five year wait between records was worth it, as the pianist's
concept has continued to develop into a warm and well-rounded voice
in jazz. Pick up a copy, and get lost in Lost In New York.
|
Matt Ray
Piano
Danton Boller
Bass
Quincy Davis
Drums
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