Naturally

Benny Green is joined here by guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Christian McBride, the same stellar trio that was on his previous CD, These Are Soulful Days, in 1999. While that CD was devoted to covers of classic Blue Note tunes, this one features five Green originals and four jazz standards, many of them drenched in the blues. The instrumentation will immediately suggest the early Oscar Peterson trios with Ray Brown on bass and a series of great guitarists. Green has been influenced by Peterson, to be sure, and has even recorded duets with him. He was a long-standing member of Brown's trio, and, like Oscar, doesn't need a rhythm section to swing. But Green is increasingly his own man, and what really stands out here is his strong connection with another jazz-piano lineage. "Pittsburgh Brethren" has the soulful directness of Horace Silver or Bobby Timmons, while "Beg Your Parlan," dedicated to Horace Parlan, adds a strongly Monkish caste. The trio interacts with effervescent swing and a well-developed sense of space, comfortably shifting roles to let Malone and McBride shine along with the leader. "Grooveyard," composed by pianist Carl Perkins, is a highlight, with Malone's solo taking surprising turns. The trio performances are bracketed by Green solos, bouncing, joyous renditions of Duke Ellington's "Love You Madly" and Wayne Shorter's "Lester Left Town." --Stuart Broomer