Kevin Hays
was only 23 at the time of this recording and hadn't quite developed the hallmarks of his own style. Still, this is clearly the work of a prodigious talent. Joined by
Larry Grenadier
on bass and
Jeff Williams
on drums, the pianist tackles difficult music by
post-bop
greats
Joe Henderson
,
Bobby Hutcherson
Wayne Shorter
, and
John Coltrane
. He does beautiful work with the standard
ballads
"Chelsea Bridge"
and
"Detour Ahead,"
as well as the
Monk
classic
"Ugly Beauty."
Only one
Hays
original,
"The Well,"
appears, along with
"How the Mighty Fall,"
a
bossa
by the underrated tenor saxophonist and composer
Patrick Zimmerli
.
' superior grasp of harmony is quite evident; his improvising -- while extremely impressive -- is not as distinctive as it would become in subsequent years. The fact that this is one of only two trio albums in
' catalog (as of this writing) makes it all the more interesting. ~ David R. Adler