Camp Meeting

HORNSBY/McBRIDE/DeJOHNETTE: Camp Meeting
Legacy, 2007

Bruce Hornsby – yes, that one! – has dabbled in jazz piano before, but this time he goes all-out and proves rather adept at it. It helps that he’s teamed up with two masters of modern jazz, and also that he mostly avoids overworked standards, even bringing in some Ornette Coleman and Charles Ives! But this is no avant-garde session: it swings. A few tracks inevitably sound like pop songs, but overall it’s pretty good.

Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 5, 10, 11

1. 4:53 – a light, speedy chase with some dense rhythmic tangles & loops
2. 6:00 – heavy postmodern swing w/angular piano and long, descending riffs
3. 7:06 – Miles Davis tune: sunny piano, steady chugging beat with drum loop
4. 5:46 – hushed Keith Jarrett ballad: sad, lyrical piano, soft bass, no drums
5. 5:44 – blocky piano chords, cool bass, stuttering beat loop, relaxed drums
6. 6:04 – Coltrane w/beat loop: starts “lite”, builds up steam, great bass
7. 7:54 – laid-back Bud Powell tune, slight reggae tinge, chugs along
8. 5:38 – standard ballad, first half solo piano, then a cool swing for trio
9. 4:36 – upbeat, quick-rolling Hornsby tune, lots of looping going on here
10. 3:00 – cute Thelonious Monk standard, happy drums & piano
11. 7:56 – heavy swing, gets into a cool rolling groove, good solos

[ Fo ] 20-Oct-07