Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Henry Hey: Trio: Ri-Metos

5

Henry Hey: Trio: Ri-Metos

By

View read count
Henry Hey: Trio: Ri-Metos
Henry Hey's name may be unfamiliar to some—he is more of a collaborator than a headline hog—but a good percentage of us have heard his music. He played piano for Rod Stewart during the singer's Great American Songbook phase, and he contributed to David Bowie's 2013 comeback album, The Next Day (Columbia Records), served as musical director for George Michael and has co-written songs for Australian electronics music duo Empire of the Sun. And throw in some soundtracks for popular films and commercials.

If that pared-down resume does not suggest a jazz pedigree, his Trio: Ri-Metos does. It is a piano trio outing featuring several Hey originals, some tunes from his trio mates—bassist Joe Martin's "Etoile" and drummer Jochen Rueckert's "Weekly Benefits," the Great American Songbook gem "If I Should Lose You" and a couple of iconic composer Vince Mendoza's previously unrecorded originals.

The disc's title, Trio: Ri-Metos refers to navigational stick charts (featured on the album's cover art) used historically (as early as 2000 B.C.) by Marshall Islanders to determine ocean depths during their sea voyages via the direction, reflection and, refraction of waves. How that is reflected in Hey's musical journey is something of a mystery. Hey speaks of creating art that is meaningful to him, trusting his passion while navigating---in these strange times—unseen moods and movements stirred up by deceit and malevolence.

A question that comes to mind concerning an artist who has spent so much time working in the world of popular music. How serious is he about this sidestep into jazz? Serious? Trio: Ri-Metos says "very." The cohesive set features a quirky atmosphere; this is not cookie-cutter piano trio stuff. It has personality, with a well-integrated trio dynamic and assertive three-way give and take. Hey's trio creates music that is by turns playful and serious, vibrant and laid back, and always intelligent.

Track Listing

Season Of The Thicket; Etoile; Cobalt; Post Road; Weekly Benefits; Swirl; If I Should Lose You; Live By Love; The Wandering Song; The Gardener.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Trio: Ri-Metos | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Self Produced

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.