One Thought in Bloomington, MN

Bassist
Scott Lee
has worked as a sideman with
Chet Baker
,
Joe Lovano
Joe Roccisano
Roseanna Vitro
, and many others, though he has had relatively few opportunities to lead dates of his own.
Lee
's third CD focuses on 11 of his post-bop originals, interpreted by fellow New York City-based players with whom he has played fairly often (excepting pianist
George Colligan
), including saxophonists
Andrew Rathbun
and
Loren Stillman
and drummer
Jeff Hirschfield
.
"A.R.,"
dedicated to
Rathbun
, is a demanding vehicle that constantly shifts gears, yet the bandmembers tackle it as if they had played it nightly for weeks. The cheerful, sauntering
"The Lope"
is well named, with
's tenor and
Stillman
's alto leading the way over the buoyant rhythm section.
"Conversations"
has the flavor of an improvisation, though
reveals in
Mark Gardner
's liner notes that it is actually a series of duets joined together. This rewarding date should earn
additional opportunities to record under his own name. ~ Ken Dryden