Tim Carey: Room 114

Dedicated to his father, Seattle-based composer, educator and bassist Tim Carey's debut, Room 114, is a very intimate affair. Carey has been a professional musician for the past nine years and during that time he has honed his skills with such luminaries as trombonist Julian Priester, as well as, creative ethnic jazz ensembles.

This combination of intimacy and expansiveness comes across on the opening "Waiting for One." Carey's romantic, Latin-influenced rhythmic embellishments contrast nicely with Brendan Odonnell's melodic guitar and Eric Verlinde's lilting piano.

Carey allows his side musicians ample room to showcase their skills. Odonell's languid guitar opens the title track, a crepuscular ballad that also features Carey's eloquent and tender serenade. The tastefully subtle but effectively assertive Tarek Abouzied drives the melody from his drum kit. The earthy and soulful "Wilmington," on the other hand, sheds the spotlight on Verlinde's sublime, funky and intelligent keyboards. It also allows room for Carey's own electrifying flights of fancy.

Drawing on his experience with world music and particularly Latin genres, Carey infuses his different compositions with trans-cultural grooves; "Ohio Beach" matches an Asian melodic structure (especially during the bassist's own solo), supported by Jeff "Bongo" Busch's rapid Afro-Cuban percussive rhythms. . .

Carey has assembled a quartet that exhibits great mutual sympathy. The waltzing "Frog Dance" features Odonnell's bluesy guitar work, drenched in rock sensibilities. Verlinde's careening, singsong lines weave around the solid Latin percussion beats. The bossa nova "Bass Baiao" spotlights Odonnell's sparkling guitar, echoing the intricate and resonating notes of Carey's electric bass and Verlinde's mellifluous lines.

On his freshman effort, Carey has assembled an exciting and innovative ensemble that delivers a set of wistful and alluring originals, painted in pastel hues.

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