Search - Drummonds :: When You Wish Upon a Star

The history of jazz is full of couples: Louis and Lil Armstrong, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin, and Jackie Cain and Roy Kral. Canadian-born pianist Renee Rosnes, who recorded an impressive string of Blue Note CDs as a leader, and drummer husband Billy Drummond are the latest in that line. They met in the 1980s all-star group Out of the Blue and have worked with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter. Joined on this CD by the venerable bassist Ray "Bulldog" Drummond (no relation), they perform a pleasing set of standards in the time-honored trio setting. Rosnes's pianism is reminiscent of Herbie Hancock's harmonic imagination, especially on the gospel-tinged Simon & Garfunkel chestnut, "Sound of Silence," George Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland," and the Disney standout "When You Wish Upon a Star." Ray Drummond takes the lead on "Alone Together," and his bone-thick tones trace their musical DNA to the grandfather of modern jazz bass, Ray Brown. Billy Drummond's quiet and dependable drumming, especially on the Latin-lilted "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," shows why he's one of the most in-demand drummers of his generation. --Eugene Holley Jr.