Frank Kimbrough is best known for his long-standing and distinguished occupation of the piano chair in the Maria Schneider Orchestra, but every now and then the US pianist drops a pearl of his own.
Solstice is a collection of other people's tunes (with one original) that could serve as a fair summation of the 60-year-old's career and influences: tunes by Carla Bley, Paul Motian, Andrew Hill and two from Annette Peacock speak of an open-minded improviser poised between lyricism and abstraction.
With consummate support from two old friends and associates – bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirschfield – Kimbrough explores that space in a series of mostly first takes that are delicate yet robust, gentle as lullabies but brimming with energy and belief.
