Steve Kuhn has been recording professionally for close to five decades, most of which time he's operated stealthily, rarely achieving the level of recognition he so richly deserves for contributing his immaculate pianistry to a range of jazz greats who have included John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Ornette Coleman, Art Farmer and others, or for leading his own diverse bands. In the mid-'80s Kuhn worked briefly in a trio setting with bassist extraordinaire Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster, cutting a pair of releases, The Vanguard Date and Life's Magic. Two decades later, that trio reconvened at New York's Birdland, and this exquisite aural document of their performance serves as a reminder that, at close to 70, Kuhn is one of jazz piano's unheralded giants. He is as sharp, imaginative and dexterous as he was during his younger years, and with Carter and Foster he is at home -- the musicians reportedly didn't rehearse for these shows, yet they sound as if they'd been at one another's sides for the past 20 years. At Birdland, the trio revisited four compositions that appeared on the earlier albums: Kuhn's own "Clotilde" and "Two by Two," Carter's "Little Waltz" and the Fats Waller standard "Jitterbug Waltz," the latter deconstructed into an 11-minute tour de force that, like much of the music in the set, allows the three musicians to explore a number of tempos, moods and tones. Kuhn, Carter and Foster alternately strut individually and lock intuitively into an airtight groove that takes surprising and pleasing twists before returning to the initial theme. Whether on the opening track, Frank Loesser's "If I Were a Bell," the fusing of Debussy's "La Plus Que Lente" and Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower," or the closer, Charlie Parker's "Confirmation," Kuhn establishes a template with light and sensitively executed solo figures before opening things up for all to take off to places unknown. There's a fine balance of simplicity and complexity at work here, but perhaps because he no longer needs to prove anything at this stage in his career, Kuhn seems to have lightened up -- the experimentalism of his ECM period has given way to an approach that is, while still at times blindingly intense, simultaneously light and playful. It's not a bad place for a master to be. - Jeff Tamarkin
You have to crank the volume hard to hear Bill Evans' whisper-soft intro to Miles'"So What" on Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959). When you hear it, though, you know something special this way comes. Steve Kuhn comes from the same school of subtlety as Evans, and Kuhn's one-finger opening to his trio's Blue Note debut, Live at Birdland, achieves the same effect as Evans' hushed chords: a simple beginning to a tremendous set.
This disc would have been special, in any case. Aside from their respective resumes, the trio—pianist Kuhn, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster—did a legendary one-week stand two decades ago at the Village Vanguard that produced two stunning live albums: The Vanguard Date (Owl, 1986) and Life's Magic (Blackhawk, 1986). Material from both records has been re-imagined for Live at Birdland, and the result is both fresh and exciting.
Kuhn plays four single notes, like a faraway church clock, on the opener, "If I Were A Bell." He takes the head while Carter goes off on his own, each monologue moving toward the same intersection. By the time they link, the tune is in high gear, and Kuhn's solo has gone from spare to soaring. It's like easing off the parking brake at the top of a steep, steep hill. One moment you're barely creeping forward; the next, you're flying almost straight down, and loving every second of the freefall. (If this ride isn't enough for you, you get one more trip on the breakneck Bird closer, "Confirmation.")
Live at Birdland dances as much as it dives. "If I Were A Bell" gives way to Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz," mixing classical-music reverence with bursts of humor typical of the wild-eyed NOLA legend who told us all, "One never knows, do one?" Foster gets us all dirty (salsa) dancing with his Latin backbeat on Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower," and "Stella by Starlight" hangs in the air like a leaf on the wind, darting to and fro on Kuhn's buoyant playing. By contrast, Carter's "Little Waltz" is stark and mournful, with Carter referencing Michel LeGrand's theme from Summer of '42, another tale of love and innocence lost.
Kuhn, like Evans, does so much with so little. He is a remarkable two-handed pianist, launching dueling solos throughout the disc, but he's at his best when he gets sparse, as he does on the solo snippet of Debussy's "La Plus Que Lente" which he uses to preface "Passion Flower." Carter should play in trios the rest of his life, because the format is optimal for the stained-glass beauty of his playing. Rock-solid one moment, butter-soft the next, Carter's bass is still the best, bar none.
Campaigns start way too early nowadays. But like the presidential race, the competition for best disc of 2007 has begun, and Live at Birdland is the frontrunner. Let the debates begin! - J Hunter
Tracks
01. If I Were A Bell (Frank Loesser)
02. Jitterbug Waltz (Thomas Waller)
03. Two By Two (Steve Kuhn)
04. La Plus Que Lente / Passion flower (B. Strayhorn/C. Debussy)
05. Little Waltz (Ron Carter)
06. Lotus Blossom (Kenny Dorham)
07. Stella By Starlight (N. Washington/V. Young)
08. Slow Hot Wind (H. Mancini/N. Gimbel)
09. Clotilde (Steve Kuhn)
10. Confirmation (Charlie Parker)
RON CARTER bass
AL FOSTER drums
STEVE KUHN piano
Recorded live on July 7 & 8, 2006 at Birdland, New York City
Blue Note - 0946 3 72992 2 7