Many of the tunes you might expect to find on a classic jazz album and are played deftly by this trio. These include Dizzy Gillespie’s “Bebop”, Charlie Parker’s “Quasimodo” (a tricky melody over changes of “Embraceable You”), Jimmy Smith’s classic blues “Back At The Chicken Shack” as well as his rhythm changes burner “Ready And Able.” There are a couple of funkier tunes as well. Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance” is often played as a funk tune though not with this instrumentation while “Bye-Ya” gets played with a New Orleans funk feel in 7/4.
The instrumentation isn’t the only thing about this album that is different. There is an eclectic mix of tunes that are thoughtfully arranged. These include pop tunes “I Can’t Make You Love Me” made famous by Bonnie Raitt as well as the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”, a Brazilian chore tune (Pixinguinha’s “Segura Ele”), Bach’s “G Minor Presto” originally for solo violin but arranged here for a jazz trio, and Wayne Shorter’s “Witch
Hunt” but done with a 6/8 feel.
A few tunes that when originally recorded were thought of as fusion music though you might not think that when you hear them played with this acoustic trio. Chick Corea’s “Armando’s Rhumba” and Pat Metheny’s “Bright Size Life” aren’t that much different than the originals but sound fresh with this instrumentation. “Teen Town” made famous by Weather Report is played like the original but with a train beat which creates an interesting juxtaposition of a country feel with modern harmony and lines. Frank Zappa’s “Rollo Interior” was originally a section of “Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast.” Here it’s used as a head chart before a group improvisation over the form. “Some Skunk Funk” by Randy Brecker was originally recorded by the Brecker Brothers. It is quite remarkable to hear all the essential parts are seamlessly covered in this mandolin trio recording.
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