Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Max Perkoff Band: Infinite Search

192

The Max Perkoff Band: Infinite Search

By

Sign in to view read count
The Max Perkoff Band: Infinite Search
In January 2007 Max Perkoff heralded a change by dropping the words "jazz ensemble and replacing them with "band for his group. The idea behind it was to free them from categorization and to bring in greater freedom. The Max Perkoff Band features Perkoff on trombone and piano, Randy Vincent on guitar, Sam Bevan on bass, and Paul van Wageningen on drums. Singer Cami Thompson, the sixth element, showcases her talent on one track here.

The Max Perkoff Band is a tight outfit. They lean into each other, read emotion and movement, and come up with a cohesive musicality that evolves in several styles. At the outset they find their reckoning in a bop beat in "New Life. Perkoff brings his warm tone on the trombone, changing the pulse from a quick friskiness into a hardier testament. Vincent is the one who gets to pick up the thread from Perkoff and he brings in a rich lore of ideas, urged on by Bevan and van Wageningen. The tune is enough to make one salivate for more and the band does not disappoint. Thompson fills "Waiting with a yearning that magnifies the lyric and as her voice soars, dives, and floats on gossamer—wings capturing every little nuance. Bevan adds the soft shade with the brushes while Perkoff shows his lyrical side on the piano as well, his notes flowing with gentle, rippling passion.

Perkoff takes different tangents on tributes to Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Billie Holiday. "Blues For Dr. King has a buoyant undercurrent, "Flowers For Rosa is a lilting tune with Perkoff on piano and "Memories of Lady Day is a blues ballad, a show stopper that captures the bittersweet life of Holiday.

Perkoff and his band may have gone on an infinite search at the outset, but on this recording, they've found and delivered a rich work of music.

Track Listing

New Life; Cookin

Personnel

Max Perkoff
trombone

Max Perkoff: trombone,piano; Randy Vincent: guitar; Cami Thompson: voice; Sam Bevan: bass; Paul van Wageningen: drums.

Album information

Title: Infinite Search | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.