All-Star Tribute Recording to Benefit Frank Kimbrough Scholarship

By Don Berryman for Jazzpolice.com

I just listened to 5 1/2 hours of Frank Kimbrough’s compositions performed by some of the best jazz musicians of our time. I recommend it.

KIMBROUGH celebrates the music of pianist, arranger, bandleader, composer and educator Frank Kimbrough, who passed away in December of 2020. Recorded over three and a half days in New York in May of 2021, KIMBROUGH features Frank Kimbrough’s original compositions with performances by 67 of his former bandmates, students, and friends. KIMBROUGH contains 61 tracks of heartfelt and often stunning performances running about five and a half hours. Released by Newvelle Records on July 16th,  KIMBROUGH is available on high-quality digital download on Bandcamp. All proceeds from the sale of this recording will benefit the Frank Kimbrough Jazz Scholarship at The Juilliard School. Check out “Elegy for P.M.” from KIMBROUGH written by Frank Kimbrough in memory of Paul Motian and performed by Joe Lovano, Ben Monder, and Craig Taborn:

Frank Kimbrough is probably most widely known for his tenure with the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra (which earned a 2021 Grammy for Data Lords in the category of “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” and was included in my picks for the best of 2020). I first became aware of Frank Kimbrough through the Herbie Nichols Project which performed and recorded modern renditions of compositions by the late pianist Herbie Nichols. The group was co-founded by Frank Kimbrough and bassist Ben Allison in 1992, and is tied in to the Jazz Composers Collective. I first heard some of Frank Kimbrough’s compositions when I heard his album Play, with the late-great Paul Motian on drums, which remains a favorite of mine.

His departure was a huge loss to the jazz scene, but I am glad that I had many opportunities to hear Frank Kimbrough perform with many different ensembles over the years.

In 2018 Kimbrough released a monumental recording featuring his arrangements of Thenlonious Monk’s music called Monk’s Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk with a stellar band featuring Scott Robinson on tenor and bass saxophones, trumpet, echo cornet, bass clarinet, and contrabass sarrusophone; Rufus Reid on bass; and Billy Drummond on drums who all appear on KIMBROUGH as well. This recording is also highly recommended (click here to preview or purchase Monk’s Dreams: The Complete Compositions of Thelonious Sphere Monk on Bandcamp).

Frank Kimbrough honored his musical heroes Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk by recording their music. It is only fitting that musicians honor Kimbrough and his music the same way. The musicians making up the various ensembles on this recording read like a who’s who of jazz today:

The musicians:

• Piano: Addison Frei, Fred Hersch, Sean Mason, Elan Mehler, Samora Pinderhughes, Ben Rosenblum, Jacob Sacks, Scott Spivak, Helen Sung, Craig Taborn, Isaiah J. Thompson, Dan Tepfer, Micah Thomas, Gary Versace, Elio Villafranca, Joel Wenhardt, Glenn Zaleski
• Bass: Ben Allison, Jay Anderson, Alexis Cuadrado, Dezron Douglas, Michael Formanek, John Hébert, Marty Jaffe, Rob Jost, Rufus Reid, Tony Scherr, Martin Wind, Ben Wolfe
• Guitar: Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Todd Neufeld
• Drums: Jeff Cosgrove, Billy Drummond, Jeff Hirshfield, Tim Horner, Douglas Marriner, Allan Mednard, Francisco Mela, Tony Moreno, Clarence Penn, Rich Rosenzweig, Satoshi Takeishi, Dave Treut, Jeff Williams, Matt Wilson
• Clarinet: Ted Nash
• Alto Saxophone: Allan Chase, Alexa Tarantino, Immanuel Wilkins
• Baritone Saxophone: Allan Chase
• Tenor Saxophone: Michael Blake, Jeff Cornelius, Evan Harris, Joe Lovano, Donny McCaslin, Ted Nash, Rich Perry, Noah Preminger, Scott Robinson, Steve Wilson
• Trumpet: Dave Douglas, Noah Halpern, Ron Horton, Kirk Knuffke, Riley Mulherkar, Jesse Neuman
• Trombone: Ryan Keberle
• Vocals: Olivia Chindamo
• Arrangement (on “Waltz for Lee” and “Svengali”): Ryan Truesdell

The tunes:

1. “The Call” performed by Scott Robinson, Riley Mulherkar, Allan Chase, Ryan Keberle, Samora Pinderhughes, Ben Wolfe, Jeff Hirshfield
2. “C Minor Waltz” performed by Dave Douglas, Alexa Tarantino, Todd Neufeld, Rufus Reid, Matt Wilson
3. “Kudzu” performed by Steve Wilson, Marty Jaffe, Douglas Marriner, Ben Rosenblum
4. “Elegy for P.M.” performed by Joe Lovano, Ben Monder, Craig Taborn
5. “Falling Waltz” performed by Helen Sung, Dezron Douglas, Allan Mednard
6. “Forsythia” performed by Kirk Knuffke, Micah Thomas, Rob Jost, Jeff Williams
7. “Quickening” performed by Micah Thomas, Ben Allison, Jeff Williams
8. “Whirl” performed by Gary Versace, Martin Wind, Dave Treut
9. “Wings” performed by Scott Robinson, Elan Mehler
10. “Hope” performed by Ted Nash, Gary Versace, Ben Wolfe, Jeff Hirshfield
11. “Clara’s Room” performed by Ron Horton, Immanuel Wilkins, Ben Monder, Billy Drummond, John Hebert
12. “For Duke (Instrumental)” performed by Steve Wilson, Ben Rosenblum, Marty Jaffe, Rich Rosenzweig
13. “Lullabluebye” performed by Glenn Zaleski, Dezron Douglas, Allan Mednard
14. “For Jimmy G.” performed by Michael Blake, Ron Horton, Sean Mason, Michael Formanek, Billy Drummond
15. “November” performed by Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, John Hebert
16. “Adrian’s Way” performed by Dan Tepfer, Rufus Reid, Matt Wilson
17. “Sadness” performed by Noah Preminger, Glenn Zaleski
18. “Helix” performed by Joe Lovano, Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, John Hebert, Clarence Penn
19. “The Breaks” performed by Elio Villafranca, Alexis Cuadrado, Satoshi Takeishi
20. “20 Bars” performed by Elan Mehler, Martin Wind, Francisco Mela
21. “Ancestors” performed by Jesse Neuman, Allan Chase, Steve Cardenas, Tony Scherr, Tim Horner, Addison Frei
22. “Kids Stuff” performed by Kirk Knuffke, Rich Perry, Micah Thomas, Ben Allison, Jeff Williams
23. “Meantime” performed by Gary Versace, Martin Wind, Francisco Mela
24. “Capricorn Lady” performed by Ted Nash, Gary Versace
25. “Waltz for Lee” performed by Riley Mulherkar, Ryan Keberle, Scott Robinson, Allan Chase, Samora Pinderhughes, Jay Anderson, Jeff Hirshfield
26. “727” performed by Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Craig Taborn, John Hebert, Clarence Penn
27. “Beginning” performed by Steve Wilson, Ben Rosenblum, Marty Jaffe, Douglas Marriner
28. “Southern Lights” performed by Noah Halpern, Joel Wenhardt, Martin Wind, Dave Treut
29. “Regeneration” performed by Donny McCaslin, Craig Taborn, John Hebert, Clarence Penn, Ron Horton
30. “A, J” performed by Alexa Tarantino, Dan Tepfer, Rufus Reid, Matt Wilson
31. “Eventualities” performed by Immanuel Wilkins, Donny McCaslin, Sean Mason, Michael Formanek, Billy Drummond
32. “Moonflower” performed by Alexa Tarantino, Dan Tepfer
33. “Just Suppose” performed by Addison Frei, Tony Scherr, Tim Horner
34. “Reluctance (Quartet)” performed by Todd Neufeld, Dan Tepfer, Rufus Reid, Jeff Cosgrove
35. “Areas (Trumpet, Piano, Bass)” performed by Dave Douglas, Craig Taborn, John Hebert
36. “The Spins” performed by Ben Rosenblum, Rob Jost, Rich Rosenzweig
37. “Sanibel Island” performed by Scott Spivak
38. “Fubu” performed by Noah Preminger, Glenn Zaleski, Ben Allison, Allan Mednard
39. “Cascade Rising” performed by Rich Perry, Helen Sung, Ben Allison
40. “Over” performed by Michael Blake, Ron Horton, Michael Formanek, Tony Moreno
41. “Blue Smoke” performed by Evan Harris, Jesse Neuman, Addison Frei, Tony Scherr, Tim Horner
42. “Air” performed by Dave Douglas, Craig Taborn, Jeff Cosgrove
43. “Affirmation” performed by Steve Wilson, Elan Mehler, Rob Jost, Rich Rosenzweig
44. “Quiet as It’s Kept” performed by Riley Mulherkar, Samora Pinderhughes, Ben Wolfe, Jeff Hirshfield
45. “TMI” performed by Donny McCaslin, Ron Horton, Ben Monder, Ben Allison, Douglas Marriner
46. “Time Will Tell” performed by Patrick Cornelius, Ben Rosenblum, Marty Jaffe, Douglas Marriner
47. “Areas (Piano, Bass, Drums)” performed by Micah Thomas, Rob Jost, Jeff Williams
48. “Noumena” performed by Ron Horton, Donny McCaslin, Ben Monder, John Hebert
49. “Sloppy Seconds” performed by Isaiah J. Thompson, Michael Formanek, Tony Moreno, Michael Blake
50. “Reluctance (Solo Piano)” performed by Fred Hersch
51. “Grass Valley” performed by Jesse Neuman, Evan Harris, Addison Frei, Tony Scherr, Tim Horner
52. “Questions the Answer” performed by Elio Villafranca, Alexis Cuadrado, Satoshi Takeishi
53. “Lucent” performed by Scott Robinson, Steve Cardenas, Jay Anderson, Jeff Hirshfield
54. “No Radio” performed by Addison Frei, Tony Scherr, Tim Horner
55. “For Carla” performed by Donny McCaslin, Ron Horton, Ben Monder, John Hebert
56. “Ode” performed by Elan Mehler, Michael Formanek, Tony Moreno
57. “St. Mark’s Place” performed by Alexa Tarantino, Dan Tepfer, Rufus Reid, Matt Wilson
58. “Ca’lina” performed by Jacob Sacks
59. “Hymn” performed by Noah Preminger, Helen Sung, Ben Allison, Jeff Williams
60. “Svengali” performed by Ted Nash, Noah Halpern, Allan Chase, Scott Robinson, Joel Wenhardt, Martin Wind, Francisco Mela
61. “For Duke (Vocals)” performed by Olivia Chindamo, Evan Harris, Addison Frei, Tony Scherr, Tim Horner

Click here to preview and purchase KIMBROUGH on Bandcamp