Pianist Jeremy Monteiro has teamed with New York heavy-hitters Jay Anderson on bass and drummer Lewis Nash for a night of exceptional Jazz in Kuala Lumpur with Live at No Black Tie.
Five of the nine tracks were written or co-written by Monteiro but even the four covers are so brilliantly reinvented that they become Monteiro’s own before all is said and done.
Take, for example, the album’s opener. It is Dave Brubeck’s In Your Own Sweet Way but the Brubeck melody must wait until the trio have made their own introduction to the night and the song. The song is, of course, beautiful but, when the Brubeck melody has been played out, the trio offers their own breakaways and things go from sweet to swaggering. And I mean that in a good way. The interplay between all three artists is remarkable and sets the stage from a fantastic evening of great Jazz.
Jules Styne’s Just in Time is another classic that the trio uses as a springboard into delicious solos and dialogues. Once again, the interaction and syzygy amongst these artists are worth the listen. Monteiro handles the melodies and Anderson and Nash anchors the rhythms and provide melody of their own in this terrific live set. Duke Ellington’s Prelude to a Kiss again sees the trio develop widely from the original.
Beginning with the fourth track, the trio takes on Jeremy Monteiro’s originals and the fun really starts. Mode for Love (for James Moody) kicks off the originals just right. Pay attention to Lewis Nash’s understated by spot-on drumming. But then, Nash is always that way. Monteiro serves up the choice piano runs. Yeah, this is what we came for.
Josefina is dedicated to Monteiro’s wife. The piece is emotional and lovely. Jay Anderson gives a sweet and soulful bass solo largely based on the themes set forth by Monteiro. This is good stuff. That depth of emotion is also present in Life Goes On, an original dedicated to Monteiro’s father who has passed away only shortly before. In both pieces, Monteiro displays his profound scope of emotion.
If you’re looking for good Gospel Jazz (is there any bad Gospel Jazz?), Mount Olive is reminiscent of a church visited by Monteiro at the insistence of his friends Eldee young and Redd Holt, to whom the song is dedicated. This one gets repeated plays.
Anytime you see “Monk” in the title of a Jazz song, you expect a reference to Thelonious Monk. Not so fast here, Jazzer. It’s about a man who renounced everything to live as a Buddhist hermit. The cool times and tempos are excellent and the work from Nash and Anderson are in great dialogue with Monteiro.
The trio wraps up with Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man. What a way to close a concert and an album. The melody is unmistakable and the groove is second-to-none. The trio leaves it all out on the stage with this one. Anderson and Nash are on fire and Monteiro builds on Herbie and gives it his own flair and flavor.
Live at No Black Tie is a great introduction to Jeremy Monteiro if you have heard his numerous previous albums. Having jay Anderson and Lewis Nash with him in the trio before a great audience in Kuala Lumpur makes for a great live trio album.
I wish I could have been there.
~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl