Jazz Articles about Frank Kimbrough

The Frank Kimbrough Trio at The Jazz Standard

by Budd Kopman
October 3, 2007

Frank Kimbrough Trio at the Jazz StandardThe Jazz StandardNew York, NYWednesday, September 27, 2007 The highest compliment I can think of for the performance that Frank Kimbrough along with bassist John Hebert and drummer Paul Motian gave at The Jazz Standard was that it sounded like a variation on the Bobo Stenson / Anders Jormin / Paul Motian trio gig at Birdland on March 18, 2006 and the Gary Peacock / Paul Bley / ...

Frank Kimbrough: Play

by Matthew Miller
September 19, 2006

More than the presence of Paul Motian on this, Frank Kimbrough's seventh album as a leader, harkens to the legacy of Bill Evans. The pianists share an unparalleled grace of touch and musicality that subtly penetrate the ear, dancing with the innate, ineffable rhythmic sense that makes repeated listening a pleasure. And like Evans, Kimbrough creates and develops musical settings on Play that seem as organic and inevitable as a sunrise or a flower's bloom. Of course, ...

Focus on Sanity

by AAJ Staff
August 3, 2006

By Frank Kimbrough There's been much discussion recently about musicians voicing their political views. I'm of the opinion that it's not only our right, but our responsibility to do so. Since 9/11, the Bush administration has characterized disagreement with decisions made by our government as unpatriotic or un-American, but I couldn't disagree more--not for musicians and not for anyone else. The administration's suppression of dissent and the resulting silence (or apathy?) is largely responsible for the sorry ...

Frank Kimbrough: Important Every Time

by Celeste Sunderland
July 19, 2006

Moonshine and church music flowed plentifully in backcountry North Carolina in the early '70s when a teenaged Frank Kimbrough saw the Bill Evans Trio on television. Suddenly the link between the young pianist's classical training and rock band elation became strikingly clear. “It struck me right away--the perfect combination, the discipline of what I was doing in classical music, but the freedom I was doing with my little rock band. I didn't feel like classical music was ...

Frank Kimbrough: Play

by Jim Santella
June 21, 2006

With this program of modern mainstream originals, pianist Frank Kimbrough embarks on a journey that emphasizes layers of lush harmony and ethereal impressions. While meter plays an important role on Play, Kimbrough's trio finds that it can express just as well with or without this tool; the pianist's swirling keyboard attacks ebb and flow dynamically.

Bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Paul Motian share equally in this creative journey, lending lustrous textures that ooze freely alongside the pianist's lyric ...

Frank Kimbrough: Play

by Glenn Astarita
June 2, 2006

A founding member of the Jazz Composers Collective and a first-call session pianist, Frank Kimbrough's musical output as leader is widely recognized for its persuasiveness. These are powerful sentiments, especially in the digital age, where performers (in all genres) crop up faster than weeds in the garden. But Kimbrough's work as a jazz artist pays homage to the fact that eminent craftsmanship stands on its own.

At times the pianist seems like a musical prophet who professes the ...

Frank Kimbrough: Play

by Chris May
June 1, 2006

Recorded with no rehearsal and just five hours of studio time, Play is something of a departure for post bop-to-free pianist Frank Kimbrough. Unlike almost all of his previous albums, it's a fly by the seat of your pants affair with essentially a pickup group, albeit one of the highest calibre. The pastel, vivacious and lyrical music succeeds because of the artistry of the individual players and the unmistakable good chemistry among them.

Most of the dozen or so albums ...