Music for Commuting: Alan Broadbent

Alan Broadbent has been keeping me company on the roads this week. Of these three discs, my preference is for the trio outings - Better Days and Over The Fence. The additional personnel on Together Again doesn't really do it for me. I've heard Gary Foster play better, and Chuck Manning doesn't feel like the right fit for the group. I do like to hear Broadbent backing a vocalist (check out his superb work with Irene Kral), but my favorite moments were when it was just Broadbent with bass and drums. I've really enjoyed Frank Gibson Jr's playing across the albums. Perhaps a little more understated that some of his work - tasty and swinging and he pairs nicely with Broadbent. If you like some classy, piano-led, mainstream (with personality), swinging jazz, Alan Broadbent is worth checking out. Whenever I listen to him, I always wonder why I haven't listened to him more. In some ways he reminds me a bit of Harvey Diamond - coming out of the Tristano tradition with a mainstream twist and with repertoire that falls a little outside of tunes associated with Tristano and players associated with him. It has been refreshing.