Los Angeles-based
Bill Cunliffe has long had a strong reputation for his fine piano solos. This CD features him as a bandleader, arranger, and composer too.
Cunliffe heads a top-notch sextet/septet also featuring trumpeter
Clay Jenkins,
Chuck Manning on tenor, trombonist Alex Iles, bassist Jeff D'Angelo, drummer
Joe LaBarbera, and guest flutist
Holly Hofmann. The band performs
Thad Jones' "Ain't Nothin' Nu,"
Thelonious Monk's "Crepuscule With Nellie," and six
Cunliffe originals. The music is advanced hard bop (or post-bop), the arrangements are just unpredictable enough to keep one guessing, and the solos are consistently rewarding.
Bill Cunliffe has recorded one rewarding CD after another since the mid-'90s. This disc continues the trend. ~ Scott Yanow