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Michael Kocour: Wherever You Go, There You Are
ByStarting with Dizzy Gillespie's tender "Con Alma," Kocour shapes an edge to the melody that accentuates the Latin character of the piece without overstating it. His solo versus his left hand bisects the musical streams into its finer elements, demonstrating the complex rhythmic underpinning that drives the songs harmonic machinery. Kocour captures this music as kinesis, entropic movement progressing forward by the momentum of the notes, played one after another. Beautifully, Kocour is less influenced by the mammoth specter of Bill Evans and more by the quiet fire of Tommy Flanagan. This gives way to a more muscular harmonic approach to his performances.
Of keen interest here are Kocour's performances on the Fender Rhodes, an instrument that bears some nostalgic baggage. Kocour is a Rhodes master, never overplaying and always summoning from the instrument all of the funky history and deep groove tones promised in the electronics. Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance" receives a concert hall performance full of drama and release. Before that was Clare Fischer's "Pensativa," on which Kocour rolls the notes out like soft marbles.
On the acoustic piano, Kocour gives an expansive reading of "How Deep is the Ocean" while pruning the edges of Thelonious Monk's "Evidence" with a solid left hand. And so this recital goes. Kocour's performance is solid and thoughtful.
Track Listing
Con Alma; Winter's Spell; Pensativa; How About You?; Just In Time; Freedom Jazz Dance; How Deep Is The Ocean; Wherever You Go, There You Are; An Affair To Remember; Evidence.
Personnel
Michael Kocour
pianoMichael Kocour: piano, Fender Rhodes.
Album information
Title: Wherever You Go, There You Are | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: OA2 Records
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