The Jeff Presslaff Trio - Red Goddess

The Jeff Presslaff Trio consists of Presslaff (piano), Julian Bradford (bass) and Scott Senior (drums). Senior is a familiar face around Winnipeg for his percussion with Papa Mambo and The Duhks. Although a little stiff on kit drum, Senior is nonetheless the powerhouse percussionist he always has been. The liner notes say that Bradford reminds Presslaff of Scott LaFaro – more like Dave Young verging towards Ed Blackwell. He plays pizzicato quite well, but it would have been nice to hear what he could do with the bow. Presslaff has a good left hand and comps well, but has little to say with his right. He needs to stretch out more and take more risks. As it is, he plays it safe and is a good lounge pianist. Once the group has more time together, perhaps they’ll gel and acquire more confidence.

Published in Volume 63, Number 17 of The Uniter (January 22, 2009)

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