Bill O'Connell: Live In Montauk

After years of gigging in the New York City area, while honing his credentials as a first-call contemporary jazz pianist, Bill O'Connell and his family moved to Montauk, the easternmost point on Long Island, where he expressed his appreciation of the area's many wonders by recording this impressive album at the celebrated Gosman's Dock, during the annual Hamptons Jazz Festival in August 2021.

It is essentially a quartet date with trumpeter Randy Brecker sitting in on two numbers, Duke Ellington's oft- recorded "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" and O'Connell's nimble finale, "Tip Toes." The other members of the quartet are tenor saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Santi Debriano and drummer Billy Hart, none of whom need be introduced to reasonably well-informed jazz enthusiasts.

O'Connell is cheerful and congenial at the keyboard, which well suits his choice of material and seems to please his companions too, as everyone plays with vigor and enthusiasm. Brecker, who remains at the top of his game after more than half a century in the spotlight, delivers typically sharp and resourceful solos on his two numbers, while Handy is as brash and outspoken as ever, reining in his more frenzied instincts most of the way (indulging them only on O'Connell's well-named "Sparks" and fast-moving "Tip Toes").

The group opens with O'Connell's Latinized arrangement of "Do Nothing," which precedes "Sparks," Bobby Timmons' well-traveled "Moanin'" (whose preamble is taken at a livelier-than-usual pace) and O'Connell's wistful ballad, "No Rhyme or Reason." Herbie Hancock's "One Finger Snap" is sunny and invigorating, Debriano's "Ripty Boom" a colorful and charming blues waltz. "Tip Toes" is the sort of finger-popping closer that leaves an audience pleading for more, and O'Connell and his companions lend it all the earnestness and energy they can muster.

O'Connell is persuasive throughout, Handy an able partner, Debriano and Hart a sturdy rhythm component. Together, they made sure the audience at Montauk was not short-changed, a promise that holds true for anyone who is moved to check out the recorded narrative of that splendid concert.

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