KENDRICK SCOTT Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Following the expansive excellence of his 2019 set with extended collective Oracle ('A Wall Becomes a Bridge'), Texan sticks-man Kendrick Scott has gone back to basics on 'Corridors'. Accompanied merely by old buddies Walter Smith III (saxophone) and Reuben Rogers (double bass), Scott's frankly inspired drumming is given the kind of platform it deserves. It helps of course that all bar one of the tracks (a Bobby Hutcheson cover) is an original composition, with the trio flitting between up-tempo, loose-limbed jazz brilliance ('What Day Is It') laden with dextrous rhythm patterns and free-wheeling percussion work, and slower, more smoky-sounding excursions in which Scott's attention to detail and intricate fills really come to the fore. In a word: impressive.

Review: Kendrick Scott has been holding it down as a leading contemporary jazz drummer in the US for more than a decade, and he returns to Blue Note with a new album after 2019's knockout A Wall Becomes A Bridge. His innate sense of optimism comes through in the music, as he seeks on Corridors to highlight the things that connect us people sharing a world. It is of course a response to the isolation of the pandemic years, but also a deeper reflection on what it means to ride the wave. Working with a pared down trio featuring saxophonist Walter Smith III and bassist Reuben Rogers, the Hoston-based sticksman lays down another striking statement that builds on his ever-progressing legacy.