Lost In New York

#		Title	Length
1		Lost	8:07	Play
2		Where Were You When I Needed You?	6:11	Play
3		El Bosque	6:10	Play
4		Pent-up House	4:29	Play
5		Central Park West	7:03	Play
6		Satellite	4:45	Play
7		The Makings of You	6:30	Play
8		Serenity	5:25	Play
9		Greene St. Blues	3:53	Play
10		Last Call On the Lower East Side	3:08	Play
			55:41

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Description

Pianist Matt Ray has been a fixture on the New York jazz scene for more than a decade. Lost in New York is his sophomore effort, the follow up to his critically acclaimed debut album We Got It!. Here he calls on the talents of two other creative New York musicians -- drummer Quincy Davis (who's worked with Tom Harrell's band), and bassist Danton Boller (who has recently been spotted touring with trumpeter Roy Hargrove).

The trio wends their way through an interesting and compelling set of music -- effortlessly adapting tunes from a wide variety of sources. "Lost" is a dark and mysterious Wayne Shorter piece, and begins with a rolling rubato intro before giving way to a series of complex harmonies and Wayne's unusual melody. Ray uses his whole range of improvisational tools on his solo -- from well-crafted lines, to shifting chord structures. The tune also includes a masterful bass solo, and a drum solo which is underscored by the bass and piano playing a series of roots (lowest chord notes) which really captures the strange and wonderful harmonic movement of Shorter's composition.

The album includes several tunes adapted from soul artists -- Stevie Wonder's "Where Were You When I Needed You?" and Curtis Mayfield's The "Makings of You." There are tinges of gospel and soul on several other compositions on the CD, most interestingly on the John Coltrane ballad "Central Park West," which is given a jazz/soul treatment familiar to fans who bought Matt Ray's first CD. Still, the album has a number of searching and harmonically challenging tunes, and Ray makes the most of these opportunities to show off his ability to navigate difficult chord changes. On Joe Henderson's Serenity, Ray returns to his trio concept of leaving as much space as he takes up, which allows his cohorts to fill up the pauses with their own ideas, and Davis's brush work really shines here.

There are three original compostions on this CD. "El Bosque" (The Forest) is an interesting circular composition, with a rock-inflected middle section. "Greene Street Blues" is an old-fashioned soul swinger reminiscent of the Ray Brown Trio, and the album closes with a slow soulful "mo better" blues tune called "Last Call on the Lower East Side." Also of interest are the album's liner notes, which are made up of an essay written by the artist himself detailing the experience of being lost artistically and personally in the big city. Being lost is apparently a good thing to Ray, and it shows on this record, as he chooses diverse tastes in material, and works his way through a series of searching but well-honed trio improvisations. For those fans of Matt Ray who have been looking forward to a new recording, the album does not disappoint. The five year wait between records was worth it, as the pianist's concept has continued to develop into a warm and well-rounded voice in jazz. Pick up a copy, and get lost in Lost In New York.