Andrew Munsey: High Tide

Drummer Andrew Munsey makes his bandleading debut with High Tide, powering a quintet with Steph Richards on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ochion Jewell on tenor saxophone, Amino Belyamani on acoustic and electric pianos, and Sam Minaie on bass. As recordist and/or drummer, Munsey has worked closely with Richards on all of her recordings. Bassist Minaie played on Richards’ Take The Neon Lights and along with keyboardist Belyamani, is a member of saxophonist Jewell’s quartet. That makes for plenty of shared history within the group, so the quintet’s ability to seamlessly shift gears comes as no surprise. Munsey wrote all the pieces, except for Les Cing Doigts: Lento, the sixth section of Igor Stravinsky’s 1921 piano composition, respectfully arranged for quintet. Munsey’s originals come in a variety of styles. His drums lead us into the opening title track, a vaguely boppish number with an enticingly twisted melody line. Belyamani takes a nicely flowing piano solo on this one. On pieces like the brief Petite Feast and the even shorter Driftwood, the structure blurs the line between a solo and its accompaniment. Then there are more developed songs like Seedling, with a charming tenor solo, and Requite, a thoughtfully styled ballad with a theme out of the Fifties or Sixties. It sounds a bit like a Horace Silver tune played very slowly. The performance is graced by a peaceful and mildly obsessive piano solo by Belyamani and an unexpectedly lyrical solo by Richards on flugelhorn. Undertow is a dark and brooding number, with moans from the saxophone, brassy wheezes from the trumpet, and some mildly creepy stabs of electric piano. Schema is poised and minimal, as a nervously repeated piano note, complemented by rudimentary drumming and a simple bass line, underpins the occasional melody played in unison by Jewell and Richards. Bassist Minaie makes the most of his solo spot. Minaie’s delicately buzzing arco introduces the short Prelude: Tree Fruit, which features a stately melody imparted by saxophone and trumpet. The theme is elaborated and caressed in the slow groove of Skyline, which closes the set on a warmly exultant note. Tidal Wave is tough to pigeonhole, which is a good thing. This exciting and absorbing batch of well-played modern instrumentals is well worth hearing.
Birdwatcher; Steph Richards (tpt, flgh) Ochion Jewell (ts, kalimba) Amino Belyamani (p, Rhodes el p) Sam Minaie (b) Andrew Munsey (d); Brooklyn, NY, no dates specified; High Tide/ Petite Feast/ Seedling/ Driftwood/ Requite/ Undertow/ Schema/ Les Cing Doigts: Lento/ Prelude: Tree Fruit/ Skyline; 51:58. birdwatcherarts.org