More “Neglected Corners” from Broadbent’s Trio

courtesy of Play MPE

About two month ago Savant Records released its latest album of the Alan Broadbent Trio. This site discussed its predecessor, Trio in Motion, in January of 2021. At that time I cited a sentence from the booklet notes provided by Kirk Silsbee: “Broadbent continually looks into the neglected corners of the jazz repertory and the Great American Songbook for material.” In his new album, Like Minds, pianist Broadbent is still poking around those neglected corners with his trio “partners in crime,” Harvie S on bass and Billy Mintz on drums.

Personally, I could not be happier with the opportunity to explore those corners with him. Once again, he has brought a refreshing new perspective to a Charlie Parker standard, “Yardbird Suite.” He did not return to Lester Young on this new album, but he did take on an engaging tune by Bud Powell, “Blue Pearl.” I tend to view Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin” as a classic; but I certainly cannot complain about the way in which the Broadbent Trio drew it into the spotlight. On the other hand I can accept Hank Mobley’s “This I Dig of You” as one of those “neglected corners” compositions; and it is definitely well served by taking the opening track of Like Minds.

Once again, Broadbent offers one of his own compositions. In arranging this particular album, “This I Dig of You” serves as an “overture” to his own contribution, “Prelude to Peace.” Among the other neglected corners, I suppose the one that interested me the most was the one occupied by Kurt Weill. “This is New” is one of the songs he wrote for the musical Lady in the Dark with lyrics provided by Ira Gershwin. Another neglected tune is Jule Styne’s “Dance Only with Me,” setting words by the master pair of lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green. More familiar (to me at least) are Clara Edwards’ “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair” (words by Jack Lawrence) and “Stairway to the Stars,” which Matty Malneck and Frank Signorelli extracted from their Park Avenue Fantasy to accommodate lyrics by Mitchell Parish.

It is also important to note that, while Broadbent may steer his interpretations of all of these tunes, he always allows for solo improvisations from his bass and drum players. Like Trio in Motion, this album is an engaging account of how three highly skilled players in the present know how to honor tunes from the past. Listening to these tracks is no more a matter of nostalgia than is a visit to Davies Symphony Hall to listen to the music of Jean Sibelius. In spite of the ways in which current technology tends to undermine a commitment to attentive listening, it is comforting to know that both recordings and performances are being made to encourage such listening practices. As long as there are musicians that honor those practices, I expect that I shall continue to write about them.