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JEFF HAMILTON TRIO Live from San Pedro
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CAPRI 74147-2 [53:56]
Tamir Hendelman (piano): Christoph Luty (bass): Jeff Hamilton (drums)
Recorded Jan 2017, Alvas Showroom, San Pedro, CA
Sybille’s Day
Poinciana
Hammer’s Tones
I Have Dreamed
In Walked Bud
Gina’s Groove
Brush This
Bennissimo
Gary, Indiana
Hoosier Friend
Jeff Hamilton, who has steered the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra for three decades and has held stints as drummer for such minor outfits as the bands of Count Basie and Woody Herman, has long been immersed in the trio format. Indeed, this particular trio has survived and flourished for 17 years, with Israeli-born pianist Tamir Hendelman and outstanding bassist Christoph Luty on board. This latest album was recorded live at Alvas Showroom, San Pedro, CA and is a righteous swinger, full of the democratic unity conferred by the piano trio format at its finest.
The date gets off to a finger-clicking start with Sybille’s Day one of those instrumentals that sounds like it’s a transcription of a song; in fact, it was a commission from a friend for his wife. The result is full of zest and joie de vivre. (And someone should write lyrics.) Those with long memories might recall – but if they can’t Hamilton reminds us in his notes – that Poinciana appeared on the trio’s first disc back in 2000. Here it is again but here its acknowledged debt to the classic Ahmad Jamal trio is even more personal and marked. Its Latin vibe and excellent sonorities are vividly conveyed. Hamilton’s effortless skill with brushes can be savoured on Hammer’s Tones, a piece written by Hamilton’s friend, the late George Robert, whilst another facet of the band can be enjoyed in Rogers and Hammerstein’s lovely I Have Dreamed and that is the eloquently romantic arco solo from Luty. Hendelman’s ensuing tracery is subtly buttressed by Hamilton’s fills and coloration.
Naturally the pianist has primary opportunities in Monk’s In Walked Bud and proves fully in command of its harmonic and rhythmic complexities. There are two pieces from Hamilton’s co-leader in his big band, in the shape of John Clayton’s Gina’s Groove and Brush This. The first, named for Clayton’s daughter – and Hamilton’s God-daughter – is a tight, hard swinger, full of liveliness and funky style. The second, often aired in the big band, suffers no reduction in appeal in this trio arrangement. The piano line is resonant and powerful, with strong chording and hints of Oscar Peterson along the way. Another piece also present on that first trio album in 2000 was the pianist’s composition Bennissimo, written for Benny Green, and here one senses the pianist is doffing at least a quarter of his hat to Ray Bryant’s Cubano addictions, though Hendelman is a more florid and fulsome stylist. Meredith Wilson’s Gary, Indiana is a fine vehicle for the trio – sprightly, taut, catchy – before the closer, a deft version of fellow drummer Joe LaBarbera’s Hoosier Friend.
It ends a straight-ahead album that repays listening; arrangements are tasteful and swinging, song selection is perceptive, and there is a just balance between standards and originals. Whether in ensemble or solo there’s always something vivid and exciting to hear.
Jonathan Woolf