Live At Mezzrow
Cellar, 2024
8/10
The legendary pianist, composer and Roger Kellaway brings along Dennis Mackrel, Jay Leonhardt and Roni Ben-Hur for these 9 live tracks that tip their hat to the greats, i.e. Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Billy Strayhorn, to name a few.
“Try To Remember” opens the listen with Kellaway’s dreamy and fascinating key progressions that radiate much beauty in a solo setting, and “All Blues” follows with Mackrel’s fluid drumming that suits the expressive and stylish mood.
Halfway through, “Pages Of Life” pairs the elegant keys with tribal like drumming for much intrigue, while “Good Morning Bahia” benefits much from Ben-Hur’s lively guitar acrobatics that create melody and playfulness.
Close to the end, “All My Life” illustrates Kellaway’s sublime talents in the album’s most intimate piece, and “Take The A Train” exits with a rich and animated finish that welcomes Leonhardt’s precise bass lines for the set’s best tune.
Kellaway’s career goes all the way back to his debut in 1963, and now 60+ years into his work he’s still making timeless and exciting jazz sounds that are highly melodic in nature.
Travels well with: Jack Walrath- Live At Smalls; Jim Rotondi- Finesse