“Journeyman” (Posi-Tone Records) is only Brandon Wright’s second CD as a leader yet he sounds like a veteran. He’s aided on his musical trek by his mates from the Mingus Big Band, David Kikoski (piano), Boris Kozlov (bass) and Donald Edwards (drums). The program is a blend of 6 originals and 4 covers, 3 of which are quite unexpected. “Better Man” is an Eddie Vedder tune, written for his band Pearl Jam – Wright digs into the melody and pushes it hard, spurred by Edward’s fine drumming. “Wonderwall“, written by Noel Gallagher and recorded by his band Oasis (a year after the Pearl Jam tune) has a good melody that allows Wright and company plenty of leeway to play with tyhe dynamics. Kikoski excellent solo sets the stage for Wright’s impassioned spot (Kikoski has quite a way with “pop” tunes – his reading of Brian Wilson’s “Surf’s Up” which he recorded for CrissCross is brilliant.) The program closes with a uptempo read of “He’ll Make Me Happy” from “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”
Other highlights include the sweet ballad “Illusions of Light“, which opens with Wright unaccompanied strolling through variations on the melody he plays when the rest of the quartet enters. Kikoski moves to electric piano for “Search For Truth“, a medium tempo piece with excellent work from Edwards (who really controls the dynamics of the song.) “Big Bully” has a scorching opening riff for saxophone and piano then moves right into overdrive for the solos. Here, Kozlov and Edwards propel the piece; Wright and Kikoski handle the changes with aplomb.
Brandon Wright and his fine colleagues have created a very good recording, with melodic and rhythmic variations galore. The solos are uniformly strong and the rhythm section is both supportive and challenging. Does not hurt one bit that David Kikoski is Wright’s partner on the front line as he is one of the more accomplished pianists on the scene today. “Journeyman” is satisfying music that gets better each time you listen.
