I don’t know about you, but I simply cannot focus on work if I haven’t got music on. As an undergrad, Miles Davis and Dave Brubeck were my favorite study buddies. (I must have listened to Kind of Blue and Time Out a hundred times on my MP3 player, while cramming the night away.) And so it was that, while listening to the Gabriel Latchin Trio’s latest release I had to keep dragging my attention back to the music rather than trying to plan workshops and file my tax return at the same time.
It’s not that the music is in any way uninteresting. I guess it’s just a sort of muscle memory: a reflex response to the presence of straight-ahead jazz. Now, this trio may not be within our normal purview—and indeed, Latchin’s website lists his top three influences as Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Herbie Hancock—but I’d argue that their latest record is well worth your consideration.
The Man I Love is a billet d’amour to George and Ira Gershwin, featuring straight-ahead but nonetheless swinging tributes to the great composer’s biggest hits. “Summertime,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and “’S Wonderful” all feature—along with some songs that don’t start with S. These are led by Latchin on piano, backed by fellow Brit bassist Jeremy Brown and New York City drummer Joe Farnsworth.
A reviewer at The Guardian (UK) called Latchin “the best straight-ahead jazz pi
