According to an atlas, England is far, far away from Australia, but jazz pianist Casey Golden’s music has traveled well anyway. ATLAS is not the debut album from the pianist, bandleader and composer but it’s his first since relocating from Down Under to the UK. And with that change of venue comes a change in the band: the Casey Golden Trio whom we’ve showered praise in this space is swapped out for a new quartet, consisting of Henrik Jensen on bass, Will Glaser on drums and Alex Munk on electric guitar.
The addition of a guitarist opens up a lot of vistas for expanding the music; in this case, Munk is used to enlarge the melodic footprint, doubling with Golden on note progressions on “Atlas.” Casey Golden finds other ways to work creatively with his new quartet: further down on the title song, he undertakes a two-handed solo with Glaser practically soloing right alongside him on drums, adding more oomph to the pianist’s thoughtful statements. That culminates in a Munk guitar solo, with just enough rock fuzz tone to make it sting.
Golden sets up “Singularity” with a repeating note figure that gracefully adds drama to the otherwise subdued performance this is nicely capped off with Jensen’s woody bass aside. “High Up” sports a sophisticated melody and gracefully good brushwork from Glaser, with Munk summoning thoughtful lines. That would be a complete song there, but Golden opens up a new chapter, a rhythmically charged motif that ups the energy level.
“The Good Fight” is another instance of Golden effortlessly blending harmony with rhythm into a limber, pleasing whole, climaxing with a trading of fours between the leader and Munk. And “Everybody Else” has perhaps the most ‘rock’ melody of the batch, but still employs jazz in its group dynamic. Golden paces his lead piano spotlight with the right touch.
Casey Golden’s knack for “subtly subverting jazz from within” by bringing some indie rock sensibilities to it has carried over with him over his long journey perfectly intact. ATLAS is now available for sale digitally from all the routine outlets as well from Spotify.
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