Wright, Rik, Quintet: After the Storm

On After the Storm, the Rik Wright Quintet presents an evocative eight-song cycle that effortlessly melds jazz improvisation with modern jazz composition. Wright, a 30 year veteran of the guitar and a pillar of Seattle's vibrant contemporary jazz community, performs in trio, quartet and quintet formats. Of them, the quintet naturally offers the fullest sound, characterized by a delicate blend of tasteful electric guitar and elegant trumpet, violin, and baritone and alto sax, along with drums and electric fretless bass. The quintet sounds at its best when it lets loose with a flurry of burly sax notes ("Thinking of the North Side") or hungry trumpet blasts ("Chitlins Con Carne"). Wright's splendid and methodical picking resonates strongest on the self-penned opener and closer, "Lush Money" and "Sunrise Pixels." There's hardly a more apt title for "Sadly Beautiful Tones," and "Forget Nothing" mourns via a somber sax and a sobbing violin. Perhaps, given the name of this album, both songs serve as tributes to the victims of Hurricane Katrina's wrath?

What's most remarkable about After the Storm is its tendency to avoid both repetition and confusion, allowing one instrument to dominate a particular passage in any given piece. That approach also is what makes this a record that both jazz and non-jazz aficionados can appreciate – and even cherish.

Track Listing:
1) Lush Money
2) Chitlins Con Carne
3) When Sunny Gets Blue
4) Thinking of the North Side
5) Sadfully Beautiful Tones
6) Nearness of You
7) Forget Nothing
8) Sunrise Pixels

Added: November 2nd 2006
Reviewer: Michael Popke
Score:
Related Link: Official Rik Wright Web Site
Hits: 2539
Language: english

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