Rodney King has made a respectable career as sideman for the likes of Benny Green, Greg Osby and Eric Reed as well as occasionally leading his own team. Here, he features Christian McBride alumnus Warren Wolf on vibes and along with Jacob Christoffersen/p and David Wong/b he keeps the bebop flame burning brightly at his series of concert performances from Feb 18-20 in Copenhagen’s Jazzhus.
Green keeps things versatile, snapping crisply on the sticks with Wolf and Christoffersen skipping along on Chick Corea’s “Bud Powell” while the pairs of sticks get kinetic on “Humpty Dumpty.” Wolf’s vibes resonate as Green skates along the cymbals of “Emily” and ricochet’s off of “Well You Needn’t.” Christoffersen’s piano flows on “Round Midnight, while the team goes off to the races as Green starts with brushes and ends with a wild shuffle as Wong pulsates like a hummingbird to Christoffersen’s magic fingers on the closing “Just One Of Those Things.” Bebop spoken here!