Jazz Workshop: Kellaway's Triumph - Page 2

“Night Train,” for example, is the one blues on the album, a raunchy one that hit big for James Brown (among others). When Kellaway launches into the first solo, however, he does all he can to conceal those origins in his oblong constructions and evasive harmonies. Then Forman takes over, his guitar like a direct tap in the song’s blues veins; where Kellaway stretched the chord structure, Forman settles directly into it, rolling out long gutbucket phrases. Next, Lutz follows Forman’s lead with a 1-4-5 walk so cocksure that he’s practically a blaxploitation-movie pimp. Even when Kellaway returns for a contrapuntal duel with Forman, it’s the guitarist who wins out; the pianist’s initially open harmonics slide almost subconsciously into greasy, sexy blues.

Meanwhile, “Midnight Sun” has a complex harmonic line that Kellaway plays with sensitivity and beauty, but it’s Forman who navigates the changes with an intricate melodic line that sounds more lyrical than it is. Forman even defines tracks by his absence: on the opener, Benny Golson’s “Killer Joe,” Kellaway does all the soloing. His work is steeped in blues feeling, and the whole performance goes in that direction largely because the guitar doesn’t take it elsewhere. 

Kellaway, of course, plays like fire all throughout, never without something to say. Nor should Dan Lutz be overlooked: He and Forman often team up to play with and against each other in a way that’s good for the guitarist but great for the bassist, who meets every harmonic challenge and poses a number of his own. While the two leads intertwine and face off in “52nd Street Theme,” it’s Lutz who holds them together in a pulse that’s both firm and as risky as a tightrope.

Heroes, then, is not in character with the piano hero to whom it pays tribute. Oscar Peterson was a towering musician who, while he worked sympathetically with his bandmates, always held sway over them. Kellaway’s trio won’t have that: the pianist brings the wizardry, but Forman brings the personality and Lutz holds them all together. One wouldn’t say it surpasses Peterson’s ‘50s trios, but there’s no question that it deserved the Prix du Jazz Classique…and many more accolades on top of it.

Article Author: Michael J. West

Michael J. West is a writer, editor, and dilettante jazz critic in Washington, D.C. In addition to BlogCritics, he writes for JazzTimes, Washington City Paper, and AllAboutJazz.com. He occasionally writes at Pop Musicology, too. He's very cute. …

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