Usiskin, Ollie: Trio Zone with Carl Orr & Rob Statham

Walk into your local jazz club, grab bourbon (or your beverage of choice), have a seat and listen to the featured band of the evening. Trio Zone from drummer Ollie Usiskin gives off that live club vibe. This contemporary jazz trio along with Usiskin features guitarist Carl Orr and bassist Rob Statham. The 8 tracks simmer; the songs find their groove and treat the audience to tasty licks that will have you feeling just fine. Jazz and Blues influence dominate the tracks, while the writing credits are split evenly between Orr and Statham. Usiskin, the bands leader is a Berkeley College of Music graduate and has played with the likes of Mike Stern and John Etheridge, and to put a cherry on top, the album was produced by Jimmy Haslip.

The opener “Steady Eddie� leaves the door open for Orr to milk his guitar lines and every so often throw us a curveball by not always reaching for the obvious note choices, a nice touch. “Return of the Jazz Police� will have your head bobbing as the song slowly picks up steam; I love his playing in this one. The band starts turning up the heat, and this is where the rocking really starts. “Messin’� has my favorite intro, I love the intricate unison lines played by Orr and Statham while Usiskin stays in step. The guitarist in me really loves the final two tracks “Corner Pocket� and “Blue Shift�; I feel these are the showcase tracks where the band lets things rip. If one word comes to mind, it would be tasteful.

I plan to search for live clips of this trio as it seems these guys would truly shine in a live setting. Everything is here, the talent, the tunes, and plenty of room for improvisation. This is about as pure as it gets, three instruments giving you the goods, check this one out and I think you’ll be suitably impressed.

Track List:
1. Steady Eddie
2. Stand Alone
3. Slow Dance
4. Return Of The Jazz Police
5. Messin’
6. Crossing The Ocean
7. Corner Pocket
8. Blue Shift

Added: September 13th 2023
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
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Language: english

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