Patience

The liner notes to this well played date, which featured two powerful LA straight-ahead jazz trios, goes just a bit overboard in comparing Forman's multiple styles and traditions to the scattered influences of Picasso. And of course, mentioning Jackson Pollock and Claude Monet is unnecessary, because the music must speak for itself. But if you're looking for impressionism with your traditional jazz, this CD might just be the ticket. Forman eschews smooth jazz, but with bassist Dave Carpenter and Joel Taylor sounds a bit like a slightly more aggressive version of David Benoit on the plucky and melodic title track. That songs evolves into some highly skilled improvisations, but even more on target in the pop-oriented melody department is "Point of View," which begins with a lilting dreaminess before Forman gets a little crazy with the bright arpeggios. These tracks find him switching gears, while the seductive "Origin" sways throughout and "Speedy" is manic intensity from the get go. Brad Dutz's brooding percussion patterns prove the perfect foil on the snappy improvisations of "Thin Air," which borders on experimental at times. Patience might require just that for fans of more middle of the road piano jazz. But for those who like real adventure and unexpected rhythmic curves, it's very interesting.