Tim Carman Trio: King Comfy

On King Comfy, Tim Carman Trio plays with such irrepressible glee that it is difficult, if not impossible, to resist the vivacious charm of their musicianship. Over the course of the album's forty-minutes, its tongue-in- cheek title becomes as much (or more) of a direct reflection of the band's natural fluidity as its ingratiating cover photo.

Much of the fun in listening to this, the threesome's second full-length album, is trying to identify the apparent teases in cuts such as "Chicken Noodle Man." Whether homage to a teenage Steve Winwood at the Hammond B3 on the Spencer Davis Group's "I'm A Man," or some other more subtle tribute from organist Ken Clark, matters less than the agility with which guitarist Steve Fell and drummer Tim Carman engage in snappy interactions.

This group's loyalty to icons of the aforementioned keyboard instrument, Jimmy Smith or Jimmy McGriff, is self- evident throughout the record. In fact, with similarly peppy exchanges occurring on "Southpaw" and "Cookin' With Gran," the threesome bears witness to the title of one of its own tunes: "If You've Got It, Flaunt It." King Comfy is thus an ideal companion piece to the group's previous LP, Key Lime (Color Red, 2022).

All three musicians contribute equally to the success of this recording. Each man's time at the forefront is divided equitably—the namesake of the band understatedly playing "Do That Thing!" and "First Mind"—and the most conspicuous example of this well-honed unit's mutual empathy is a cover of The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down." With admirable delicacy, Tim Carman Trio articulates the structure of the composition just sufficiently to render it familiar. In doing so, each instrumentalist leaves room for the others to elaborate on its memorable melodic and rhythmic motifs.

Immediately following that affectionate interpretation, the arguable coup de grace of the album, there is a comparable demonstration of fluency. On the pair of 'Live In Studio Session' numbers, Dave Brophy provides additional percussion during Bud Powell's "Buster Rides Again" and "Blues For Bob." Besides providing help in mixing (with co-producer Carman for a clean mastering by Dave Krebs), his nuanced touches help in no small part to render this collaborative interlude a fitting close to King Comfy. Not coincidentally, it also happens to be one more ebullient reaffirmation of the spirit of generosity within Tim Carman Trio.

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