Drummer
Eliot Zigmund
is still likely best known for his tenure in
the Bill Evans Trio
of the mid-'70s and later work in
Michel Petrucciani
's trio, though it has been decades since he worked in either group. This is his fourth date as a leader, and he's joined by saxophonist
Mike Lee
, bassist
Phil Palombi
, and pianist
Gary Versace
(whose primary instrument has usually been organ, though he returns to his first instrument on occasion), all of whom contribute originals along with the leader. The leader's compositions include the languid ballad
"After"
(a great feature for
Lee
's soulful tenor), the easygoing bossa nova
"Breeze"
(with
on soprano), and the driving post-bop vehicle
"From the Bottom Up."
Versace
penned the melancholy ballad
"Homeland"
and
wrote the strutting opener,
"School Night,"
while
Palombi
's intricate
"For Scott"
is obviously a tribute to
Scott LaFaro
, the promising bass virtuoso in the
Evans
trio who died far too young. One can hear a bit of
' influence in
's linear playing in the one standard of the date,
"I Wish I Knew."
Zigmund
's soft-handed touch adds just the right chemistry to each song throughout the session, particularly when he is using brushes. ~ Ken Dryden