Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bryn Roberts: Present Tense

Bryn Roberts: Present Tense

By Glenn Astarita
August 1, 2001
View read count

Young Montreal, Canada-based pianist, Bryn Roberts; a one time student of pianist extraordinaire Fred Hersch, exhibits complex compositional tendencies that perhaps skirt the fringes of both mainstream and modern jazz on his debut release, Present Tense.

At twenty-four years of age, Roberts has already performed with legendary trumpeter/big-band leader Maynard Ferguson and here, garners sturdy support from vibraphonist Stefan Bauer and saxophonist Seamus Blake. However, drummer Karl Jannuska and bassist Fraser Hollins provide the sinuous crosscurrents and pumping rhythms in concert with Roberts’ endearing melodies, lush voicings and temperate swing grooves on the Rodgers-Hart classic “Spring Is Here” and other works. Additionally, the pianist displays a notable propensity for weaving Bill Evans-like harmonics and elegantly executed swing vamps with alternating flows, odd-metered rhythmic interludes and altogether, gleeful implementations of richly thematic sheets of sound. With “Likewise,” Roberts and Bauer render soft balladry via delicate inflections, emotive dialogue, and intriguing tonalities. Overall, Bryn Roberts demonstrates remarkable maturity to compliment his rather laudable technical faculties. Recommended!

contact: [email protected]

Personnel

Bryn Roberts

piano

Album information

Title: Present Tense | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Disques BMR Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Global Unity
< Previous

Meet Duane Eubanks
Next >

Support All About Jazz

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.