Like Minds [CD]

Alan Broadbent is one of New Zealand's favorite musical sons and perhaps the most well-known and multi-talented of them all. Many are familiar with his arranging and conducting for Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Pat Metheny and Michael Bublé. Others may know Broadbent has received 8 Grammy nominations and won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Orchestral Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal, one for Natalie Cole and one for Shirley Horn. On Like Minds, Broadbent takes a seat on the piano bench for his third Savant recording with his trio featuring the great bassist Harvie S and the colorful drumming of Billy Mintz. Together these men play with notable clarity and poise, and their performances - even those of familiar standards - are wonderfully tuneful, sometimes whimsical and often moving, with the overall effect always coming across as coolly engaging and totally spontaneous. "I'm averse to playing what I jokingly call 'big band trio arrangements,' where everybody plays the rhythmic hits," Broadbent explains. "I'll get a big band if I want to do that. For me, for the trio, I want it to change every time." Spontaneous and off-the-cuff these 9 tracks may be but the closer you listen, the more inventive and exquisitely crafted they sound, with the recording showing that, without a doubt, these three superb musicians are of like minds indeed.