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Geoffrey Dean Quartet: Foundations

By Jack Bowers
March 21, 2024
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Foundations is a generally swinging debut recording by Washington, DC-based pianist and educator

Geoffrey Dean

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Geoffrey Dean's quartet. The studio date pays tribute to the groundwork laid by its storied predecessors, especially those steeped in the hard bop movement that helped change the course of jazz, well before Dean or his sidemen were born.

The album consists of seven relatively unsung compositions by

Sam Rivers

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 2011

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Rivers,

Sonny Clark

piano
1931 - 1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Clark,

Duke Pearson

piano
1932 - 1980

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Pearson,

Elmo Hope

piano
1923 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Elmo Hope,

Peter Bernstein

guitar
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Bernstein and

Andrew Hill

piano
1931 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Andrew Hill, and two others—

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' "Nardis" and

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter's "E.S.P."—that could plausibly be deemed jazz standards. The former is played fairly straight- ahead, the latter at a leisurely pace with sudden flourishes by trumpeter

Justin Copeland

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Justin Copeland that render its familiar melody almost incidental.

The album's subtitle reads "Featuring

Harish Raghavan

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Harish Raghavan," and the bassist is indeed showcased to good advantage on the seductive opener, Rivers' "Cyclic Episode," as well as on Pearson's melodious "Is That So" and Hope's amiable "Low Tide." Drummer Eric Binder has his say on "E.S.P." Elsewhere, Copeland and Dean carry the ball, with Copeland especially forceful on the closing numbers, Bernstein's "Jet Stream" and Hill's "Yokada Yokada." As for Dean, his solos are always eloquent and well-balanced.

The fast-paced "Jet Stream" is a highlight, as are "E.S.P.," Clark's bright and groovy "Blue Minor" (ardent solos courtesy of Copeland and Dean) and Hill's buoyant "Akuda Akuda." Clark also wrote the session's lone ballad, "My Conception" (its graceful melody is eerily akin to Jerome Kern's "The Way You Look Tonight," as "E.S.P." now and again mimics Mack Gordon and Harry Warren's "The More I See You").

When all is said and done and the sum total entered, Foundations is an admirable salute to the hard bop style with much to recommend it.

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Track Listing

Cyclic Episode; Blue Minor; My Conception; E.S.P.; Is That So; Low Tide; Nardis; Jet Stream; Yokada Yokada.

Personnel

Geoffrey Dean

piano

Harish Raghavan

bass

Justin Copeland

trumpet

Eric Binder

drums

Album information

Title: Foundations | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: AMP Music and Recordings

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