Search - Kim Richmond Ensemble :: Live at Cafe Metropol

So far this has my vote for Jazz album of the 21st Century!

John Vinson | Buckeye, Arizona | 11/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Remember when jazz was categorized as East Coast or West Cost? Remember all those tight combos that Mulligan and Baker put together with the likes of Clark Terry, and Bob Brookmeyer? Well, this may be the current incarnation of true West Coast Jazz today. For those of you familiar with Kim Richmond's work, this album is a jewel. You can't nail it down categorically because it refuses to sit still and be categorized. The improvisation is terrific, but it's the arrangements and the tight unison work that makes this a standout among any other jazz recordings I've heard from the past 20 years. Richmond's alto runs the gamut from the full bodied ballad with his signature "Never Let Me Go" rendition (so far this one is my favorite recording of it) to the almost avante garde feeling of "In Fine Line" penned by Richmond's long-time associate Clay Jenkins. Jenkins doesn't appear on this recording; however, Trumpeter John Daversa is a refreshing, if not awesome voice. Joey Sellars on trombone rounds out the winds portion of the ensemble and reminds us that the trombone can still be a force in jazz today. Kristin Korb on upright bass yields to no one for creativity and absolutely rock-solid rhythm work. Erik Klass is one of those drummers who like Jeff "Tain" Watts is really a musician who happens to play drums, no tacky drum machine sounds here, after all this is REAL JAZZ. The piano work is shared between tracks by Rich Eames and Brian Friedland, and both of them pull the ensemble together as the underlying fabric that fills out the sound of a group you can hardly believe is "only" a sextet. The sound clips speak for themselves, but you really need to hear this one to enjoy it's scope and diversity. If I could nominate an album for a Grammy for Jazz Album of the Year, this one would be a no-brainer. Terrific arrangements, superb solos, and no little square cubby holes to categorize this except this is where Jazz should be going. Wonderful. A Kim Richmond masterpiece and best of all it's LIVE! Richmond also plays soprano saxophone on this album, and although his recording of "America the Beautiful" on his Concert Jazz Orchestra album is still my favorite, this album highlights how the instrument can sound in contemporary REAL jazz."