John Hebert

Rez Abbasi Trio - Continuous Beat (2012) {Enja ENJ-9592 2}
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© 2012 ENJA Records | ENJ-9592 2
Jazz / Post Bop / Fusion / Progressive Jazz / Guitar

Flush with the attention he got for his role in furthering the “Indo-Pak” agenda in jazz alongside Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa, the Pakistani-born, L.A.-raised Rez Abbasi expressed the hope he and his cohorts wouldn’t be pigeonholed as ethnic outliers. With Continuous Beat, a relentlessly probing trio effort featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Satoshi Takeishi that closes with an uncommonly thoughtful acoustic reading of “The Star Spangled Banner,” Abbasi takes another bold step in resisting any stereotyping.

Guitarist Pete McCann is sometimes compared to both John Scofield and Pat Metheny, and you'll hear more than a shade of the latter in his buttery tone and lush use of reverb on several of this album's tracks. But on McCann's sophomore effort there's also quite a bit of Bill Frisell in his approach to melody – listen to the slow-footed "Knew Blues" and the ringing open chords and skewed phrasing on "You Remind Me of Someone." On "Ornery," a brilliant tribute to free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, McCann pays homage not just to Coleman's notorious disregard for the chord progression during solos, but also to the man's amazing ability to write delightful, sometimes downright hooky melodies. McCann also chooses his few covers well, delivering a thoughtful rendition of Cole Porter's "I Love You" and a slightly Latin-tinged interpretation of the Steve Swallow composition "Falling Grace."

'Live in Europe' crowns what was a momentous year for pianist Fred Hersch. Capturing his trio - with longtime associates, bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson - in peak form, the new album signals a high level mark for an ensemble that has been garnering critical and popular praise for nearly a decade.

Reach up to the CD shelf and pull a handful of Fred Hersch CDS down. You'll find that the pianist has a good thing going with the Village Vanguard. Alive At The Vanguard (Palmetto Records, 2012) a stellar two CD set, and terrific solo set, Alone At the Vanguard (Palmetto Records, 2011), are Hersch's most recent recordings from the legendary venue; and now he and his trio offer up Sunday Night At the Vanguard. Hersch says this is his best trio album. Almost every artist says that about their latest—that this one's the best. But he might be right. The vote here would have gone to a studio recording, Whirl (Palmetto Records, 2010), a marvelous in-the-zone effort with this same trio—John Hebert on bass, Eric McPherson playing drums—until Sunday Night At The Vanguard rolled around.