Roberta Piket, West Coast Trio, 13th Note Records
The seasoned New York pianist traveled west to record with a sterling rhythm section of veteran Los Angeles players. The bicoastal combination clicked. Drummer Joe La Barbera, bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, and—on two pieces—guitarist Larry Koonse meld with Piket in a collection of standards and originals by her and others. After Piket wrote “Mentor,†she discovered that it reminded her of her former teacher Richie Beirach and dedicated it to him. ” Her eight-bar exchanges with LaBarbera highlight the track. Zippy versions of Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty,†Richard Rodgers’ “Falling In Love With Love†and George Shearing’s “Conception†are up-tempo successes balanced by the trio’s ballad artistry in Piket’s “A Bridge To Nowhere.†In Walter Donaldson’s 1920s ballad “My Buddy,†she lingers over the melody and Oleszkiewicz caresses the verse mid-chorus. They revive the song so touchingly that one wonders why it isn’t performed more often.