For the people complaining that this thread consumes all the oxygen on AN, (Other than this one) there is only one other post among all 50 listed on the homepage.
I just heard this CD on Pandora. It is an excellent trio and I am usually not a big Ron Carter fan, but I would buy this for the pianist alone. Keith Jarrett influenced, but in a good way.
Amazon review:
"Five ENJOYABLE Stars!! Composer, arranger, educator, perennial jazz poll- and Grammy-winner Ron Carter, unquestionably one of the greatest bassists in jazz history, has conjured up a great tribute to Miles Davis, who brought him front and center in the jazz world. Historically, Mr Carter arrived in the quintet after the "Kind of Blue" era, playing from 1963 to 1968 teaming up with Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams to form one of jazz' most stellar rhythm sections, playing many of these very songs. This CD is a wonderful set of Miles associated-songs which are fresh while often maintaining much of the atmosphere of the originals. Mr Carter is joined by the stupendously inventive Stephen Scott on piano, superlative drummer Payton Crossley and master percussionist Roger Squitero. Wonderfully recorded, you can often hear the reverberations of Mr Carter's strings suspending the notes in the air longer than we normally hear.
The 'Pieces De Resistance', the best of the best, begin with a song I listened to six consecutive times before moving on: the 5-minute "Stella by Starlight" which begins with a bridge fragment and is a robust, wonderfully-constructed, touching extended bass solo by the 'bassist-extraordinare' with some tasteful piano, percussion and great brush support. And look for Ron's amazing 'mystery note' near the end, in a performance that mirrors the Miles Davis tempo and atmosphere but stands on its own; ditto for the tempo shifting "My Funny Valentine". "Gone" has some superlative drumming, stout Carter 'walking', great Scott pianism, and great overall interplay. "Seven Steps To Heaven" starts out in a familiar vein but launches on its own trajectory from there with Scott absolutely on fire and with some muscular bongo playing by 'conguero' Squitero. The waltz "Some Day My Prince Will Come" starts out where we would expect and Scott turns it funky and bluesy in a great performance that almost sounds 'Brubeck-ian' near the end. There are two Ron Carter compositions: the blazing fast "Cut and Paste" with Crossley showing his 'accent' and solo mastery and Carter giving a bass-walking seminar, and the bluesy, almost "So What"-ish "595" which is a showcase for Ron's writing and arranging plus Squitero's background percussive virtuosity. Don't let the song times dissuade you, each satisfying song gets a thorough examination and exposition. Now 70, a fleet-fingered, highly-inventive Ron Carter is as potent a bassist and as vital a composer and group leader as ever, inspiring those around him as evidenced by this disc. My Highest Recommendation. Five WONDERFUL Stars!! "
