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Adi Meyerson: Where We Stand
ByMost of the tracks have the feel of a hard-blowing '60s jazz combo with Joel Frahm's tenor sax and Freddie Hendrix's trumpet swooping and punching in unison over lively rhythm playing before soaring into their individual solos. "Eunice" has a slow, throbbing bass line underscoring gorgeous blues crying from both horns, "A Touch Of Grey" is a moving and sentimental ballad that features haunting piano by Mike King and soulfully subdued tenor by Frahm and "A 'D' Train" and "Rice & Beans" have the swagger and drive of a classic Herbie Hancock or Lee Morgan Blue Note session with the horns swaying along tight melody grooves and King going on sparking piano runs.
Not everything is in this style. "Holes" is a tender and reflective piano trio piece with Meyerson's thoughtful bass sound featured in the foreground. Then there are the two pieces that feature vocalist and guitarist Camila Meza. On "Where We Stand" her wordless voice hovers above meditative piano, sounding like Flora Purim singing with the original Return to Forever. "Little Firefly" is the anomaly of the entire set, a bit of airy jazz-rock where Meza coos out lyrics over a circular melody as Frahm's soprano sax dances and plays a free-swinging guitar solo over bumpy rhythm accents. Elsewhere "TNT" has Frahm and Hendrix powering hot, funky solos over a frantic up-tempo beat laid out by Kush Abadey and "Unfinished Business" brings the set to a mellow conclusion with a tropically-accented melody, cool horn harmonies and another solid bass solo by the leader.
Adi Meyerson can compose strong, memorable tunes both in the mainstream jazz style and in more open, progressive formats. This is a promising first effort from her and it will be interesting to see how she develops from here.
Track Listing
Rice & Beans; A "D" Train; Eunice - Intro; Eunice; Little Firefly; A Touch of Grey; TNT; Holes; Where We Stand; Unfinished Business.
Personnel
Adi Meyerson
bassAdi Meyerson: bass; Camila Meza: voice, guitar (5, 9); Joel Frahm: tenor & soprano saxophone (1, 2, 4-7, 10); Freddie Hendrix: trumpet (1, 2, 4, 7, 10); Mike King: piano; Kush Abadey: drums.
Album information
Title: Where We Stand | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Self Produced