Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » David Kikoski: Combinations

David Kikoski: Combinations

Item: Combinations
Rating: 0
Author: C. Andrew Hovan

By C. Andrew Hovan
June 25, 2003
View read count

The victim of corporate disregard for an artist's work, pianist David Kikoski has recorded many records as a leader over the years, although all but his most recent string of releases for Criss Cross are currently unavailable. This fact, along with his extensive work as a sideman, meant that until 1998's Inner Trust, few were aware of Kiksoki's talents as a leader. Reaching a pinnacle on his previous set, Surf's Up, Kikoski has honed a particularly incisive musical relationship with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts which is no less palpable on Combinations. This time out, we also get to hear Seamus Blake return to the fold on two of the nine pieces, all written by Kikoski.

The premise for Combinations is simply stated by the album title, Kikoski engaging in different sized ensemble combinations taken from the pool of musicians on hand. There are two duo tracks with only the pianist and bassist Boris Kozlov as the leads. Aside from a brief bass interlude and the pair of quartet tracks with Blake, the remaining cuts feature the trio—and it's a potent one, capable of great flights of fancy be it on the blues or more advanced forms. While it might be said that we have somewhat of a mixed bag here taken as a whole, the majority of the individual parts are distinctive enough to merit attention.

FOLLOW C. Andrew Hovan and get notified whenever a new article published.
An avid audiophile and music collector, Chris Hovan is a Cleveland-based writer / photographer / musician.

Track Listing

Improvisations, Cecilia, Duo Part 1, Bass Interlude, Tamami, Harmonizing Instincts, Blues For Us, Duo Part 2, Trio Improvisation.

Personnel

David Kikoski

piano

David Kikoski: piano; Boris Kozlov: bass; Jeff "Tain" Watts: drums; Seamus Blake: tenor sax (2, 6).

Album information

Title: Combinations | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Criss Cross

About David Kikoski

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Syncopated Taint Septet
< Previous

Rule Of Three
Next >

David Kikoski Concerts

Dec 25 Fri

David Kikoski Trio

Mezzrow
New York, NY

Tickets

Dec 25 Fri

David Kikoski Trio

Mezzrow
New York, NY

Tickets

Dec 26 Sat

David Kikoski Trio

Mezzrow
New York, NY

Tickets

Dec 26 Sat

David Kikoski Trio

Mezzrow
New York, NY

Tickets

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.