Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mike Wofford Trio: Live at the Anthenaeum Jazz

105

Mike Wofford Trio: Live at the Anthenaeum Jazz

By

View read count
Mike Wofford Trio: Live at the Anthenaeum Jazz
My perspective, speaking as a reviewer with access to large amounts of music, may not be that of the average fan, but 2004 seems to be shaping up as the year of outstanding piano trio work by higher profile players like Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau, as well as by a slew of lesser-known but no less talented artists like Randy Halberstadt ( Parallel Tracks, Origin Records), Satoko Fuji ( Illusion Suite, NatSat Records), and now Mike Wofford, with Live at Anthenaeum Jazz.

This set mixes some lesser-known standards—"My Old Flame," Ellington's "Take the Coltrane," Irving Berlin's "The Best Thing for You"—with the unfamiliar and exotic "Macedonia" (which sounds just like its title: full of gentle, smooth-flowing syllables), along with a Sting tune, "It's Probably Me."

Wofford, who worked as musical director for Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, has played with everyone: Art Pepper, Benny Golson, Bud Shank, James Moody, and for the past fifteen years flutist Holly Hofmann. His sound reflects a classical touch and a huge technical proficiency mixed with a soulfullness and invention—a sort of cross between Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. And he sometimes dashes off zingy right hand splashes that flow into pretty runs and rivults of intricate notes; this skilled player doesn't eschew playfulness—check out the short right hand detour in a "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" on Berlin's "The Best Thing for You."

Wofford's rhythm team here, the always on-mark Peter Washington on bass and Victor Lewis on drums, perform to perfection, by turns insistent, laid-back, bouncing or propulsive, and always in sync with the pianist's ideas.

And the sound quality: remarkable! Gone are the days when you could dismiss most live sets out of hand, for murky, muddled, ill-mixed sonics. The band sounds sharp and clean here, like these three musicians are playing in your living room.

A top notch piano trio set!

Track Listing

My Old Flame, Take the Coltrane, Macedonia, Dex-Mex, Medley: Lucky to Be Me/I'm Just a Lucky So and So, It's Probably Me, The Best Thing for You

Personnel

Mike Wofford--piano; Peter Washington--bass; Victor Lewis--drums

Album information

Title: Live at the Anthenaeum Jazz | Year Released: 2004

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.