BRYN ROBERTS

ALOFT

Elastic Recordings

Bryn Roberts, piano; Matt Penman, bass; Quincy Davis, drums.

This is the debut album by Bryn Roberts Piano Trio, pianist and composer.  Roberts has spent many years as a jazz sideman, but on this project, he’s ventured out to explore his creativity and composition skills.

“I felt I had acquired the maturity and perspective as a player and composer to add something new to the conversation,” he explained in his press package.

Roberts has been involved as a leader with quintets, with quartets and even recently with a duo format featuring guitarist Lage Lund. He’s recorded and performed with a bunch of notable musicians and co-written a number of songs with several local singer/songwriters.  With this project Roberts has composed every tune and radiates much excitement about working with Matt Penman on bass and Quincy Davis on trap drums.  They are his dream team.

The pianist opens his album with a tune he calls “Let’s Agree (That You Agree With Me),” a title that sounds somewhat narcissistic, but Roberts says it was meant to poke fun at those with little room for the opinions of others.  It has an interesting melody and is arranged with staccato breaks that create interest and surprise. Penman steps up to solo on double bass.  He shows off his improvisational skills. In the background, Quincy Davis is more than just a timekeeper.  He manages to hold the tempo in perfect place while dancing around, introducing his own ideas on his drum set, creating constant interest underneath the exploration of both Roberts and Penman.

Track #2 is dedicated to Portland, Oregon’s American drummer, Ron Steen.  It’s called Steen’s Scene, arranged to give Davis a platform to show off his drum skills.  I wish the engineer had brought the drums up in the mix, but you can still hear the artistic and creative drummer laying down his unique percussive ability at the top of the tune.  When Penman’s walking bass kicks in, it’s all Straight-ahead and no-nonsense jazz.

Roberts has a light, airy, evenly timed style of improvising.  I am quite impressed with his compositions that are well-written and engaging to the listener.  The title tune is a jazz waltz (Aloft) that has a dreamy melody and chord changes that allow Penman to play around with them, when he takes a long and melodious solo on his bass.  Davis colors the piece with his drums and cymbals, while my foot taps ¾ against my listening room floor.  They follow this with the lovely standard tune, “My Ship.”  It’s a slow, bluesy arrangement that settles the groove down quickly and captures my attention.

This is a strong beginning for Bryn Roberts Piano Trio to present himself as a bandleader, pianist and composer. Like I said earlier, I am quite impressed with him as a composer.  He’s a thoughtful pianist, with a nice-and-easy attitude, that is both intriguing and comfortable. I enjoy his musical ideas and harmonizations, as well as his exploration of the highest notes on the keyboard.  I also love the comfortable feel I get from this trio.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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