Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sean Fyfe: Late Night

Sean Fyfe: Late Night

By Pierre Giroux
January 21, 2022
View read count

Sean Fyfe

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Sean Fyfe is a peripatetic Canadian jazz pianist who has vagabonded his musical way from Vancouver Island to Montreal to New York City and now London. He has not forgotten the friends he met along the way and so his cohorts for the session are some buddies from Montreal: guitarist

Sam Kirmayer

guitar
b.1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Kirmayer, bassist

Adrian Vedady

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Adrian Vedady and drummer

André White

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">André White.

In keeping with the concept of staying with things that are familiar, of the eight-composition playlist for the session, with the exception of

Billy Strayhorn

piano
1915 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," all are originals by Fyfe. The opening track is called "Happy" and a jaunty little number it is, as it lays down a marker for the whole session. The title track "Late Night" is up next and has a palpable change of pace and a 3/4 tempo. The number opens with some nifty unison playing between Fyfe and Kirmayer which then segues into a delightful series of confident solos by Fyfe, Kirmayer and Vedady.

"Lush Life" is a solo excursion by Fyfe which is elegantly formal and has a cloak of restraint. However it clearly demonstrates that he is an accomplished pianist. The band continues on its excursion across musical styles, tempos and harmonies, showing that although this is not a regular aggregation, they have the chops to deliver the goods.

The session closes with "Validation," based on the chord changes to

Charlie Parker

saxophone, alto
1920 - 1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Parker's "Confirmation." The number bustles along with the rhythmic and harmonic aspects of bop, and the band is perfectly adept at dealing with surprise and variation. A suitable end to a well performed outing.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Happy; Late Night; Little Pants; Lush Life; Needful; Stella; To Wes; Validation.

Personnel

Sean Fyfe

piano

Sam Kirmayer

guitar

Adrian Vedady

bass

André White

piano

Album information

Title: Late Night | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Cellar Music Group

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Eternal Aporia
< Previous

CAB, Dean Brown, Sam Aliano, Steve W...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.