Marcus Roberts - In Honor of the Duke (Audio CD - Nov 2, 1999)

On IN HONOR OF DUKE -- a richly textured suite customized for his interactive trio -- the 36-year-old Roberts shows he's internalized and synthesized his wide-ranging sources. The pianist brings characteristic stunning technique, rampant imagination, and ineffable brio to the fray; his deep-groove/big-sound bassist Roland Guerin and encyclopedic polyrhythmist Jason Marsalis are erudite foils. The narrative references an inclusive range of modernist tropes -- ragtime, stride, gospel, bebop, modal; the propulsive trio at a moment's notice juggles themes and reformulates them in an incessant conversation of coequals, addressing a panoramic -- Pan-American -- array of rhythmic signatures. It's the rhythm that allows Roberts to animate past imperatives with such vivid life force; he may be drawing on a shadow world, but he's tackled that world from the inside out, and in doing so he's established a voice and sound all his own. He channels Ellington's essence without regurgitating a single lick.
Condition:NEW. Drilled case

TRACK LISTINGS

1 Rickitick Tick (6:03)
2 There It Is (8:49)
3 The Feeling of Something New (9:09)
4 Take a Chance (5:13)
5 Groove Until You Move (6:51)
6 In Honor Of Duke (2:33)
7 On Two Separate Occasions (6:06)
8 Promises, Promises (5:11)
9 Wild Kingdom (3:56)
10 Duke De Suite (8:42)
11 The Beauty of the Spirit (6:41)
12 Nothin' Like It (4:07)