Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Bob Hamilton Trio: WixWax

177

Bob Hamilton Trio: WixWax

Bob Hamilton Trio: WixWax
Pianist Bob Hamilton has released a finely wrought debut album on Capri. WixWax is a piano trio album consisting of seven originals plus two standards. Originally from Newark, New Jersey, and a resident of San Diego for the past six years, Hamilton has been on the payroll of James Moody, Joe Henderson and Frank Morgan over the years. It is from Morgan that Hamilton's fast and feathery touch has been singled out and his interpretation of Thelonious Monk's "Ruby, My Dear" has been praised by the altoist. Hamilton also has the ability to report on his resumé that he once sat in with guitar legend Wes Montgomery.



Hamilton uses this opportunity to showcase his originals and, on the first two selections—"Albino Frankie" and "Isabella's Invention"—his up-tempo playing style. In the liner notes, Hamilton cites Oscar Peterson and Count Basie as influences. It is easy enough to hear traces of Peterson on the up-tempo and blues-based tunes, but he has also absorbed a major part of his jazz vocabulary from bebop modernists. On the melodic "Grace" and "Irena Anna," Hamilton displays his ballad touch. On Wayne Shorter's "Lester Left Town," a bebop tune most often associated with the repertoire of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers circa 1960, Hamilton skillfully navigates its twists and turns for one of the album's highlights. Victor Young's "Love Letters" closes the album as an attractive ballad.

One of the most positive aspects of WixWax is the interactive aspect of the trio. Bassist Jeff D'Angelo gets a few solos, including the opening of "Isabella's Invention," and drummer Duncan Moore demonstrates plenty of snap, crackle and pop. This trio has an intuitive sound and feels like a working group.

Track Listing

Albino Frankie; Isabella's Invitation; Grace; Dining and Dancing; Lester Left Town; Irena Anna; WixWax; I Can't Remember a Thing; Love Letters.

Personnel

Bob Hamilton: piano; Jeff D'Angelo: bass; Duncan Moore: drums.

Album information

Title: WixWax | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Unknown label

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.