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Roger Kellaway Trio: New Standards Vol. 3

By Dan Bilawsky
April 5, 2018
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Roger Kellaway Trio: New Standards Vol. 3

Trumpeter

Carl Saunders

trumpet
1942 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Carl Saunders is best known for his contributions to jazz orchestras, having put his mighty horn to good use for

Stan Kenton

piano
1911 - 1979

" data-original-title="" title="">Stan Kenton,

Bill Holman

composer / conductor
- 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Bill Holman,

Maynard Ferguson

trumpet
1928 - 2006

" data-original-title="" title="">Maynard Ferguson,

Benny Goodman

clarinet
1909 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Goodman,

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerald Wilson, and numerous other big band leaders of note over the past half-century. Yet his work as a composer may end up being his lasting legacy. Saunders has amassed a considerable body of work—more than three hundred of his tunes appear in a Real Book-style collection titled New Jazz Standards—and he's been showcasing these compositions by handing them off to notable performers for a series of albums for Summit Records. The late

Sam Most

flute
1930 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Sam Most's final date—also dubbed New Jazz Standards (Summit Records, 2014)—kicked off said project, and trombonist

Scott Whitfield

trombone
b.1963

" data-original-title="" title="">Scott Whitfield took the baton and delivered a second volume of material in 2016. Now, top-notch pianist

Roger Kellaway

piano
b.1939

" data-original-title="" title="">Roger Kellaway is taking his turn with the Saunders songbook.

Fronting a first-rate trio with bassist

Jay Leonhart

bass
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Jay Leonhart and drummer

Peter Erskine

drums
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Erskine, Kellaway delivers a set that alternately swings and soothes. "Prudence," one of Saunders' better-known compositions, opens the album by cutting against its name. There's nothing cautious about this sunny swinger. Then there's "Dees Blues," a number dedicated to lyricist Michael Dees. Erskine, aligned perfectly with Leonhart's buoyantly shuffling bass, sets that train in motion with a Mel Lewis-worthy feel that perfectly supports Kellaway's excursions, which include some

Gene Harris

piano
1933 - 2000

" data-original-title="" title="">Gene Harris-esque tremolos. The aptly titled "Calming Notion," where Kellaway overdubs a second piano, provides a marked shift in direction, but the laid-back pseudo-bop of "Noodlin" puts the trio back on its cheery track while showcasing Kellaway's remarkable chops and split- handed brilliance.

As the program continues, Kellaway and company deliver more of the same along with a few surprises. Leonhart puts his voice and bow to good use in a humorous blues setting on "Is That Asking Too Much," "Valtzing" calmly bounds along in line with the titular dance, and "Sweetness" proves to be the standout ballad on the set. Add to that a "Hurry Up & Wait" that finds Kellaway and Leonhart syncing up before the trio goes to serious swing town, a solo piano episode of optimistic quietude in "A Verse," and a skulking-turned-cooking blues finale in the form of "Minor Infraction," and then you have a real work of art. But Saunders goes one better, tacking on a balladic bonus track recorded by the trio of Kellaway, bassist

Buster Williams

bass, acoustic
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Buster Williams and drummer

Santo Savino

" data-original-title="" title="">Santo Savino at the 1994 sessions for his first solo album. It may or may not have been necessary, but it's most definitely the cherry on top.

Whether or not these and other Saunders songs will take their place as new jazz standards remains to be seen, but they certainly have merit. And there's plenty more from where these came from: a fourth volume in the series—with guitarist

Larry Koonse

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Koonse taking the reins—is already in the works, so we'll be hearing more of Saunders' music in no time.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Prudence; Dees Blues; Calming Notion; Noodlin'; Short Sweet: Walking On Air; Is That Asking Too Much; Valtzing; Sweetness; Hurry Up & Wait; A Verse; Minor Infraction; Forever Again.

Personnel

Roger Kellaway

piano

Roger Kellaway: piano; Jay Leonhart: bass, vocals (7); Peter Erskine: drums.

Album information

Title: New Jazz Standards Vol. 3 | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: Summit Records

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