EER-MUSIC.com HOME PAGE
David Kikoski Quartet, The Maze (56:59); Criss Cross 1168 CD, 1998
Criss Cross Jazz
Postbox 1214
7500 BE Enschede, Holland
Phone/fax: (31) 53 - 433 03 38
E-mail: info@crisscrossjazz.com
Cyberhome: www.crisscrossjazz.com
During David Kikoski's ten or so years as Roy Haynes's pianist, his
unbridled energy and highly advanced harmonic sense gelled with
Haynes's roaring drums to create combustible, killing music. Recently
he has graced excellent recordings by Al Foster, Craig Handy, Bob
Berg, Ingrid Jensen, Conrad Herwig, the Mingus Big Band, and others.
As a leader he has several discs to his credit, most notably 1995's
self-titled, cryptically packaged Dave Kikoski on the Sony
Epicure label. A technical and compositional tour de force, this
album is one of the undiscovered gems of the 1990s. If you haven't
heard its incendiary version of "Giant Steps," you don't know what
you're missing.
Two Criss Cross discs have since followed. Inner
Trust, a strong trio session released in 1997, featured drummer
Leon Parker and another longtime Roy Haynes sideman, bassist Ed
Howard. Now we have The Maze, Kikoski's first quartet date and
also his first all-original date. The lineup is promising, to say the
least: Seamus Blake on tenor sax, Scott Colley on bass, Jeff "Tain"
Watts on drums. Unfortunately, the playing is solid but surprisingly
restrained. And Kikoski's writing this time around is a tad
conventional. His intentions, however, are somewhat grandiose: The
six tracks that comprise The Maze are thematically linked as a
suite with autobiographical overtones, each piece addressing a
different aspect of personal and emotional change. The concept seems
to have overwhelmed the music to some degree.
"Revival," the opener, is an eleven-bar minor blues taken at
a medium postbop burn. A tune like this could really raise the roof,
but here it sounds like a perfunctory rundown. The players aren't
reaching. "Puddles of Memory" is an improvement, beginning with an
arpeggiated triplet figure against a 5/4 funk backbeat and going
through a series of unexpected twists in the B and C sections.
"Strength for Change," on the other hand, is a rather bland ballad.
The program's second half is stronger. "Disentanglement" is
the best cut on the album; the colorful central riff draws upon the
sound Kikoski began to develop on his 1995 disc. Still, he's on auto
pilot for much of his solo - but Blake, with Tain's help, manages to
shake things up. "Shame" is a mournful latin number with
exceptionally strong solos by Kikoski, Blake, and Colley. "The Maze"
closes the record with a swinging major-key modal theme. Kikoski
brings out heavy artillery on the formless blowing section and comps
wild and abstract yet perfect chords under Blake's solo.
Overall, The Maze is not nearly as thrilling as
Kikoski's previous outings, all of which mingled his own compositions
with brilliant readings of standards. His first wholly original
program may have caused him to err on the side of caution. He sounds
more reined in than usual, and so do his bandmates.
~David R. Adler, 12/14/99
GO BACK
RETURN TO:
To purchase this recording and get more info, soundclips, etc.
CLICK ON ARTIST'S NAME ABOVE
OR . . .
Please visit my BUY IT E.E.R. NOW INDEX PAGE
OR...
Please try my brand spankin' new EER and AMAZON.com QUIK-LINKs
buyer's guide to recommended music.
OR ...
go to my LINKS page and find the vendors' section.
Happy hunting!