Versatile drummer and composer Wayne Maureau knows a thing or two about water. He appreciates the significant ups, downs and everyday impact it has on New Orleans throughout its history. Compositions inspired by water itself, or places bordering water, are the focus of this recording featuring Maureau in two different trio settings.
He performs six tracks in a purely acoustic format with pianist Joe Ashlar and bassist Ed Wise. Four more with pianist Jordan Baker and Brian Quezergue on electric bass are interspersed to add a bit of more funk to the overall project. Both teams are locked in beautifully.
The adventurous calypso “Island Life” celebrates the Crescent City’s social, musical, culinary, spiritual and supernatural ties to the Caribbean isles. Maureau sets the groove on this teasing, upbeat, joyous nod to other places surrounded by water. Lots of it. This fits well in this recording because some consider the Crescent City the northernmost city in the Caribbean, no matter that they’re separated by the Gulf of Mexico.
“Go With the Flow” is a sprightly and, at times, introspective little trip to unexpected places, much like rivers and streams meander and change their pace. Ashlar creates wide-ranging shifts in melodic focus before he and Maureau add phrases that collide and complement each other like tributaries swirling into a river. “Scattered Showers” has a rhythmic “Poinciana”-like opening, set by Maureau’s front-and-center drumming. It sets up an introspective, adventurous solo by Ashlar, and a complementing response from Wise.
“Skipping Stones” is a pleasant change of pace. When out walking by a pond, lake or even the ocean, few of us can resist picking up a flat little stone or piece of shell and spinning it side-armed to see how many times it bounces across the surface until it drops into the depths. You can hear the bounces—and the playfulness—throughout the trio’s interplay. The ballad “Reflections and Wishes” opens with a beautiful melodic lead from bassist Wise, with gentle comping by Ashlar before he solos over Maureau’s subtle drums and cymbal work in the background. It’s a gem.
The intense 7/4 groove of “South Lake” sets up hard-swinging solos from all three players. It is also a showcase for Maureau’s imaginative and at-times free-wheeling drum mastery. He named the tune after the way a friend refers to New Orleans’ geographic relation to Lake Pontchartrain.
The exotic “A Day in Paraty” teams Maureau with Baker and Quezergue on a propulsive Samba-inspired dance. He wrote this one after visiting the town on Brazil’s southeastern coast to perform at a local festival. “Twisting Currents” blends intensity and bits of crystalline beauty from Baker’s piano artistry from its opening segment to later solo spots.
“The Avenue” is a funky, funky strut that Maureau says was inspired by Elysian Fields Avenue, the only main street running straight between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River. Baker, Quezergue and Maureau ride a piano vamp reminiscent of Lee Morgan’s jazz classic “The Sidewinder” as they variously walk, run and amble down the avenue, checking out passersby and places of interest as they go. Despite the Lee Morgan link, Maureau says he was inspired by Herbie Hancock’s funky, vintage 1960s sound.
The closer, “Punta Cana,” is the lone track that wasn’t composed by Maureau. This one, from Atlanta-based musician, composer and educator Rudy Gilbert, brings more exotic Caribbean flavor to the project. It was inspired by the Dominican Republic’s easternmost tip, a region that is home to endless beaches and resorts. Baker’s rollicking piano solo sets up propulsive responses from Quezergue and Maureau on this breezy, grooving Latin-tinged adventure.
