The most remarkable thing about Live At The Jazz Standard is how Roger Kellaway and his ensemble make this recording sound as if it was recorded right in the studio. This is a tribute to the excellence of Kellaway on piano, his exceptional accompaniment, and not to mention the high standard of recording a live performance for the pristine and perfect replication that this two CD set offers.
The IPO label continues their series of live recordings with Kellaway referred to as the “all wood” (drumless) trios. These sessions emulate the 1940s and 1950s extraordinary trios of Nat Cole, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson.
Kellaway brings in the splendid Russell Malone on guitar and Stefon Harris on vibes. The vibes provides a nice added touch to their sound and a new wrinkle to previous presentations. Jay Leonhart serves as the bottom end on bass and the special guest is classical cellist Borislav Strulev. Struley shows us why classical music influences everything with a strong presence in the performances.. Clearly, Kellaway is a seasoned performer with recordings dating back to 1965. He was overlooked prior to the 1980s and stands as one of the most respected and revered bandleaders to this day. For this listener it was yet another new discovery in the world of jazz and one that I appreciated enormously.
Once again, I was impressed with not only the quality of music that IPO brings to the table but the packaging and the added sampler they put in so you can check out their stable of artists. I really appreciate the three fold CD in digipak format. It reminds me of gatefold vinyl LPs and it simply looks better and offers more quality to the music connoisseur, and the covers don’t crack or scratch up.
Both CDs have fantastic music that will easily fall into the higher echelons of consideration in the realm of jazz, fitting squarely into the post/neo bop sub genre quite nicely. Although you will not hear the name, Kellway mentioned in the same instance as the legendary Oscar Peterson, he certainly deserves the nod here for pulling together an incredibly coherent band and his playing is beyond exemplary. If the two CDs in this set do not convince you of this then I suggest you go for a hearing test. Once you hear tracks like “C Jam Blues” and the closer “52nd Street Theme” you be left wanting for more and for certain will be reaching for this “A” set of live jazz music many times before your time on this planet is through.
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
November 22, 2008
