Jazz Articles about Frank Kimbrough

Ben Allison: Medicine Wheel

by Troy Collins
May 4, 2006

Bassist Ben Allison was a virtual unknown when this album was originally released by Palmetto in 1998. After Seven Arrows (Koch, 1996), this was Allison's first major release. Combining conservatory training, ethnic/world music fusions, post-bop energy and free-jazz vigor, Allison and company were on the cusp of a new movement. Listening to this recording in retrospect reveals a blueprint for the new breed of jazz improviser. Medicine Wheel is a watershed moment in end of the century East Coast jazz.

Frank Kimbrough: Lullabluebye

by J. Robert Bragonier
June 1, 2004

Any opportunity to listen to Frank Kimbrough’s trio is apt to be well worth the investment in time and concentration. It’s unlikely that you will be able to get by without making the investment, however; his is not mood music or background music, while you’re concentrating on something else. Although ever accessible, it is sometimes freeform and unfettered, other time focused and disciplined, but always thoughtful and genuine; just when you think you have it figured out, it frequently springs ...

Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel: Buzz

by Rob Cline
June 1, 2004

Despite its moderate tempo, “Respiration," the opening track on Buzz, sets an insistent tone that drives the album’s first three tracks. Bassist Ben Allison penned all three charts, which feature tight, energetic ensemble playing by the six-piece band as well as plenty of open space for improvisation, including a textured piano solo by Frank Kimbrough on “Respiration" and a blistering tenor solo by either Michael Blake or Ted Nash (the promo copy of the disc does not specify) on “Buzz." ...

Frank Kimbrough: Lullabluebye

by John Kelman
May 24, 2004

Another day, another piano trio. The thought could send a reviewer running for cover. It's such a conventional and commonplace format that reviewing yet another one could be a major challenge. How to differentiate? How to assess in context of all the others that came before? In the case of pianist Frank Kimbrough, the criteria have to include honesty, optimism and a direct perspective that leaves nothing unclear. Lullabluebye may not shake the foundations of musical evolution, but it is ...

Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel: Buzz

by John Kelman
May 21, 2004

On the fourth album with his group Medicine Wheel bassist Ben Allison continues to push the boundaries of structured music with a programme of six originals and one Beatles cover. With a straightforward sound that belies a richer complexity, Allison continues to present invention masked in simplicity, combining intelligence with emotional depth.

Buzz opens with Allison’s “Respiration,” a 9/4 piece that is insistent, with simple interweaving bass, piano and electric piano parts laying the groundwork for a snake-like horn theme ...

Ben Allison: Buzz

by Jim Santella
May 3, 2004

Ben Allison and Medicine Wheel have a history of going against the grain, with their provocative form of New York jazz. Allison has said that “a composition should create a landscape in which a musician can freely explore and find an individual voice.”

With its fourth release, however, Medicine Wheel turns collective and moves its circle closer to the center. Voices move together as one. Pleasant harmony and smooth rhythms support simple melodies. Their “New York buzz” ...

Frank Kimbrough: Lullabluebye

by C. Michael Bailey
April 11, 2004

The title of Frank Kimbrough’s new recording betrays the overall sound and philosophy of the disc. Lullabluebye infers a quiet (mostly) airy affair, free thinking and inventive, lighting the corners of trio jazz. Kimbrough has been a fixture at Palmetto for the past several years, being most instrumental in the label’s most successful Herbie Nichols Project, Strange City, along with his support cohorts, Ben Allison and Matt Wilson.

All songs, save for John Barry’s “You Only Live Twice" ...