While
Jonny King's original influences were his mentor
Mulgrew Miller and
McCoy Tyner, he displays an increasingly individual voice on The Meltdown, both as a pianist and as a writer. All the songs on the date are his except
Bud Powell's "So Sorry Please," and which is taken as a brief unaccompanied piano solo, and Tyner's "For Tomorrow," and the originals are often quite complex; check out the advanced vamp on "Lady Macbeth." The modal waltz "For Tomorrow" deserves to be covered by others, but several of the other pieces are also worth exploring by musicians looking to freshen up their repertoire. Fortunately,
King picked out some very talented players for the date -- flexible and skilled enough to make the music seem almost effortless.
Steve Wilson on soprano and alto in particular is a major asset; tenorman
David Sanchez gets in some good spots; trombonist
Steve Davis is fine; the excellent rhythm section includes bassist
Larry Grenadier, drummer
Billy Drummond and percussionist
Milton Cardona. A particularly strong effort. ~ Scott Yanow