Unforgettable April (Campbell) [6:01]
Lightly, Comes the Dawn [5:05]
The Girl from Rio [7:42]
Soul and Body [7:04]
Bb Jam Blues [5:56]
Autumn Hues [8:34]
Almost Midnight [8:34]
Trio by Starlight [7:51]
Quiescent Nights [6:36]
Who’s Got Rhythm [6:00]
Royce Campbell (guitar)
Hod O’Brien (piano)
Tom Baldwin (bass)
recorded 16 February, 2006, Small World Audio,
Afton, Virginia, USA
A gorgeous album firmly in
the bop tradition.
The admirable Paolo Piangiarelli
established his Philology label in 1987, "dedicating
it", in his words, to his "heroes
Phil Woods, Chet Baker and Lee Konitz".
Since 1987 it has issued many superb albums,
by Piangiarelli’s nominated heroes and by
many others. A glance through the Philology
catalogue reveals names such as the superlative
Italian pianist Franco D’Andrea, and his compatriot,
the fine tenor sax player Gianni Basso, and
largely neglected talents such as American
(but Italian-based) pianist Mike Melillo or
clarinettist Tony Scott.
It is good to see guitarist
Royce Campbell, whose work I have enjoyed
on more than one previous album, getting some
exposure on Philology, one of the best of
Jazz’s independent labels. Good as his work
has been on some of the albums I have previously
heard, such as Gypsy
Soul, this is on a different level and
establishes Campbell’s credentials once and
for all.
He does , I am sure, benefit
from the presence of Hod O’Brien on piano.
O’Brien has been recording since at least
1957, when (aged 21) he appeared on the Prestige
album, Three Trumpets, in a rhythm
section with Addison Farmer and Ed Thigpen
in support of Art Farmer, Donald Byrd and
Idrees Suleiman. Since then he has recorded
in the company of musicians such as Chet Baker,
Jimmy Raney, Allen Eager, Warne Marsh and
many others. He has also worked with luminaries
such as Oscar Pettiford, Red Rodney, Zoot
Sims, Charlie Rouse and Barry Harris. From
this wealth of experience he brings an unexaggerated
but propulsive swing, a sophisticated harmonic
sense and an unpedantic precision of bop-inspired
phrasing that is a joy for any lover of bop
piano idioms.
The two frontline soloists-partners
are well supported by Tom Baldwin’s work on
bass – Baldwin can draw on experience with
masters such as James Moody and Harold Mabern
and, both as a firm harmonic and rhythmic
source of strength and an occasional soloist,
makes a valuable contribution to an excellent
album.
All the tunes are credited
to Campbell. In fact all of them, in the best
bop tradition, are based on the chord sequences
of well-known standards. For any listener
who might have any difficulty in recognising
the originals, Campbell’s titles offer some
less than impenetrable clues – ‘Almost Midnight’
borrows from a Monkish original; ‘The Girl
from Rio’ has a sister from Ipanema, etc.
Campbell plays, throughout,
with great fluency and imagination; O’Brien
prompts with wit and judgement and solos in
a fashion that distils a great tradition of
jazz piano; Baldwin displays big ears and
firm technique.
For anyone who loves the
bop tradition, this is a joy and this is very
warmly recommended.
Glyn Pursglove
CD Reviews
Philology
W 357.2 [66:26]
