This remarkable live performance by pianist Mike Wofford was recorded during the 2003 Jazz at the Athenaeum (a private library in La Jolla, California) series, though it was taped at the larger Neurosciences Institute Auditorium in San Diego. Joined by an accomplished rhythm section consisting of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Victor Lewis, this trio set features a diverse mix of songs played with imagination. The old chestnut “My Old Flame” opens with a disguised introduction, reworked with a brisk 5/4 rhythm and a richly voiced substitution for the original bass line. He turns on the afterburners in his take of Duke Ellington’s blues “Take the Coltrane” (written for his studio date with the tenor saxophonist). Washington’s tasty bass and Lewis’ snappy percussion underscore the leader’s arrangement of “Macedonia,” an infrequently performed composition by Conte Candoli. Lewis contributed the challenging “Dex-Mex,” a tribute to Dexter Gordon, which showcases the drummer to good effect. It’s not often that the music of Leonard Bernstein and Duke Ellington is combined in a medley, but Wofford joins a solo take of “Lucky To Be Me” with a snappy trio version of “I’m Just a Lucky So and So.” The only slightly disappointing track is the trio’s interpretation of rocker Sting’s “It’s Probably Me.” It opens with a long solo by Lewis, but in spite of Wofford’s bluesy arrangement, it gets rather monotonous. Fortunately, the pianist’s jaunty, playful performance of “The Best Thing For You” wraps the CD with a flourish. Highly recommended.

Ken Dryden /All Music Guide (to be published after Nov.1)

 

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http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=15525

Live At Athenaeum Jazz
Mike Wofford Trio | Capri Records
 

Track Listing: My Old Flame; Take The Coltrane; Macedonia; Dex-Mex; Medley: Lucky To Be Me/ I'm Just A Lucky So And So; It's Probably Me; The Best Thing For You

Personnel: Mike Wofford--piano; Peter Washington--bass; Victor Lewis--drums

 

 CD Review Search   Mike Wofford played for fifteen years at the Athenaeum jazz concert series in San Diego, right from its initiation in 1989. Came the time to release its first recording and the spotlight, appropriately enough, shone on Wofford. He set his sights on New York and beckoned Peter Washington and Victor Lewis to join him.

The trio setting offers a snug home for jazz and if the musicians have empathy, they can raise a song to a high level through communication and artistry. These three work beautifully together and, in doing so, structure each song with a sense of adventure and musicality. The standards are injected with a shot of new blood and even Sting, who once aspired to play jazz, has one of his songs "It's Probably Me" turned into an inspiring listening experience. Lewis sets it up with an energetic and rhythmically adventurous drum solo, the tone taken in another direction by Wofford, who gets the melody to sing luminously as he crafts the transformation of pop into jazz with authority. Lewis contributed "Dex-Mex," on which he twirls a sprightly rhythm, Wofford sneaking into the spaces and then engaging in dialogue with Lewis. This one is all the more fun as the trio rides it out meshed in a romping groove.


Wofford's ideas swell and fall in a neat pattern. Excess? The word is not in his vocabulary. One could see that on any of the tracks, but the medley offers probably the best vantage point. He goes solo on "Lucky To Be Me," delineating the tune with sensitivity, a gentle emergence that basks in the warmth of his ministrations, and then up jumps "I'm Just A Lucky So And So," sparkling and irresistible, the leader and his men seeped in a radiant vitality.


Listen. Have fun.

~ Jerry D'Souza