Label: Smoke Sessions Records, 2024
Personnel - Peter Bernstein: guitar; Brad Mehldau: piano; Vicente Archer: bass; Al Foster: drums.
Guitarist and composer Peter Bernstein, who blew my mind with albums such as Signs of Life (Criss Cross, 1995) and Strangers in Paradise (Tokuma Records, 2004), returns to the quartet format with Better Angels, after two trio sessions with Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart. For this release, Bernstein assembled a multi-generational ensemble featuring longtime collaborator and renowned pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Vicente Archer, and legendary drummer Al Foster, with whom Bernstein played before but never recorded.
The album kicks off with Bernstein’s “Perpetual Pendulum”, a slow-burn groover that first appeared on his 2022 trio album of the same name. The track blends dulcet melodicism with an elegant, swaying pulse that lays the foundation for the soloists. Bernstein’s signature lyricism convenes bluesy phrasing and jazz coloring filled with chromaticism, while Mehldau’s logic narratives include chained melodic ideas that rise and fall with passion.
Tracks like “Ditty For Dewey” and “Hazel Eyes”, dedicated to family members, achieve a pleasing balance, with the latter being a richly textured ballad. “Better Angels”, likely inspired by Bernstein’s children, is a suave, in-the-pocket 3/4 piece where to Mehldau brings delicate trills, breaking points, and subtle dynamic shifts. Bernstein also delivers two solo performances: Mel Tormé/Robert Wells’s “Born To Be Blue” and J.J. Johnson’s “Lament”. The latter, introduced by a strikingly dissonant chord, stands out as the guitarist weaves together improvised melodies and harmonic coloration with keen sensibility.
The album’s two standards offer contrasting impressions. While “You Go to My Head” remains a straightforward, perhaps unsurprising interpretation, Duke Jordan’s “No Problem” emphasizes atmosphere and rhythm. Foster drives the track with a bubbling bossa groove, eventually trading eights with the band to close out the tune in style.
Better Angels is a smooth jazz album that simmers rather than boils, presenting familiar jazz elements while occasionally enchanting with its refined sonic treatments and thoughtful arrangements. Though far from groundbreaking, the album shines in its moments of graceful nuance.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - Perpetual Pendulum ► 07 - No Problem ► 08 - Lament