George Grydkovets: Rise

Ukrainian guitarist & composer George Grydkovets makes his debut here, in a trio accompanied by upright bassist Valentin Kornivenko and drummer Pavel Galitsky (trumpeter Dennis Adu plays on three tracks). Grydkovets currently resides in New York, where he studies at the New School's School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. He recorded this album near his hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine, with some of the leading Ukrainian jazz musicians he had been working with. Opening the album with the ballad "First Rays of the New Rising Sun" was a bold move, but it serves as a brief introduction to the title tune. It features melodic mainstream jazz guitar—evoking models from Wes Montgomery to Pat Metheny—as well as fine bass and drum solos.

"The Land of Green Verticals" begins with a quote from Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone From The Sun" (the first of the rock influences in this music) before heading into blues territory. "Blvd A.D. 1/5" is a lyrical composition which evokes Pat Metheny, before veering into a Bill Frisell-style soundscape at the end. "Hey You" introduces Adu's trumpet, as well as a stylistic mashup between bebop and progressive rock—including atmospheric electronic effects. The trumpet also makes substantial contributions to "Thomasovich" and "Beyond the Sky."

The brief "Go For It" finds Grydkovets soloing over his own strummed folk-like acoustic guitar rhythm track (again reminiscent of Metheny). "Transcendental" concludes the album with a solo guitar performance with digital delay. It displays the guitarist in a reflective mood, his harmonies echoing and shimmering in a majestic virtual space. Another example of the stylistic range on display: it should take the guitarist to interesting places in the future.