Joshua Breakstone Trio - No One New

Featured Artist: Joshua Breakstone Trio



Year: 2009

Record Label: Capri Records

Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic

Musicians: Joshua Breakstone (guitar), Lisle Atkinson (bass), Eliot Zigmund (drums)



Review: The members of The Joshua Breakstone Trio are three musicians with lots of experience in the Jazz scene. Bassist Lisle Atkinson has worked with Nina Simone, Betty Carter, Stanley Turrentine, Benny Carter and Kenny Burrell. Drummer Eliot Zigmund has worked with Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Benny Golson, Toots Thielmans and Jim Hall. The leader of the trio Joshua Breakstone, besides his nineteen solo recordings, has worked with Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Barron and Kenny Washington.

Joshua is a master improviser with a nice tone and inventive phrasing. Joshua first influences were Clifford Brown and Charlie Parker and one may hear a Be Bop influence on his improvisations, especially in the first piece, Over-Done. His solos on guitar sounds like those of a horn player with a sense of humor also on his improvisations. Over Done ends with a melodic bass solo followed by a wonderful exchange on guitar and drums before going back to the main theme.

In For Me the bass and drums provide a nice swinging groove to the bright tone and happy melodies of Joshua on guitar. The Unknown One is a beautiful ballad with a lovely latin, almost bossa feeling. Joshua's melodies creates a placid, relaxing mood.

Come on Baby is an up beat piece that brings a festive, swinging feeling to the CD with a superb bass solo by Atkinson.

With a brilliant use of chords harmonization and and improvisations that always reach the right notes, Blues Heretofore grows slowly in intensity with yet another excellent work on bass and drums.

No One New is another swinging track all three musicians keeping the energy all throughout the tune. The Peacoks is a beautiful blues wrote by Jimmy Rowles, brilliantly played, with expressive, heartfelt solos on guitar and a subtle, perfect support on bass and drums by Lisle Atkinson and Eliot Zigmund.

The CD ends with a nice interpretation of Joe Henderson composition The Kicker.

Tracks: Over-Done, For Me, The Unkown One, Come on Baby, Blues Heretofore, No One New, The Peacocks, The Kicker

Record Label Website: http://www.caprirecords.com

Artist's Website: http://www.joshuabreakstone.com/

Reviewed by: Wilbert Sostre