Sean Fyfe: Late Night

Sean Fyfe is a peripatetic Canadian jazz pianist who has vagabonded his musical way from Vancouver Island to Montreal to New York City and now London. He has not forgotten the friends he met along the way and so his cohorts for the session are some buddies from Montreal: guitarist Sam Kirmayer, bassist Adrian Vedady and drummer André White.

In keeping with the concept of staying with things that are familiar, of the eight-composition playlist for the session, with the exception of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," all are originals by Fyfe. The opening track is called "Happy" and a jaunty little number it is, as it lays down a marker for the whole session. The title track "Late Night" is up next and has a palpable change of pace and a 3/4 tempo. The number opens with some nifty unison playing between Fyfe and Kirmayer which then segues into a delightful series of confident solos by Fyfe, Kirmayer and Vedady.

"Lush Life" is a solo excursion by Fyfe which is elegantly formal and has a cloak of restraint. However it clearly demonstrates that he is an accomplished pianist. The band continues on its excursion across musical styles, tempos and harmonies, showing that although this is not a regular aggregation, they have the chops to deliver the goods.

The session closes with "Validation," based on the chord changes to Charlie Parker's "Confirmation." The number bustles along with the rhythmic and harmonic aspects of bop, and the band is perfectly adept at dealing with surprise and variation. A suitable end to a well performed outing.