NEW MOMENTUM - ROBERT IRVING III
Conspicuously absent as a leader since serving as Miles Davis’ fusion-oriented musical director in the ’80s, Robert Irving III returns in dramatic fashion on “New Momentum,” the premiere release for indie Sonic Portraits. The disc is largely an acoustic piano trio date highlighted by Irving originals and two nods to his mentor’s ’60s repertoire: a buoyant cover of Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven” and a refined take on Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti.” What’s so remarkable about Irving’s return from obscurity is the fresh, vital sound spurred by his pianistic dynamism and infused with an imaginative improvisational approach that encompasses dancing tempo shifts and harmonic curves. Bassist Buster Williams co-stars, with arco support on the ballad “Primordial Waters,” low-end punch to the title track and a walking bass conversation with Irving on the midtempo groove tune “Always . . . Sometimes.” Billboard
