Bill Shoemaker

Back in the day, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bob Moses were one of the best rhythm sections in jazz, propelling the great late ‘60s Gary Burton Quartet with Larry Coryell. They have too rarely teamed up since, so the idea of them working with a pianist who looks like he is less than half their age warrants attention. It only takes a few seconds to realize what they hear in Greg Burk: he’s explosive and lyrical at the same time; he mixes idioms with the finesse of someone decades older; and, he has an ear for open structures that allow him, Swallow and Moses to go full tilt without overloading the listener. It is doubtful that Swallow and Moses have a prior tour de force performance like the nearly twenty-minute “Truth be Bold” in their shared discography. Give Greg Burks props for that, and more.

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