Kirk Lightsey - The Nights of Bradley's

The release of this recording -- the first release from three nights and over twelve hours of music -- is the first recording in this century by the Detroit-born, Paris-based Lightsey, who was the second artist ever to record for the Sunnyside label. It also features the rock-steady bass of Rufus Reid -- another Sunnyside artist -- who along with Lightsey, was a member of saxophonist Dexter Gordon’s quartet when these tracks were recorded.

Bradley’s was the cozy piano bar named for Bradley Cunningham, who arguably ran the most intimate and artists-friendly venue in Manhattan before it closed in the late ‘90s. As Russ Musto wrote in the CD’s liner notes, “[t]he music played in Bradley’s was profound and powerful as the spirit of camaraderie that prevailed among the musicians who regularly patronized the club.”

The seven tracks on this disc offer aural evidence of this dynamic duo’s swing and sensitivity. Leading off is their light, Latin-tinged reading of George Cable’s I Told You So, where Lightsey playfully drops in a quotation from Thelonious Monk’s Bemsha Swing. Their flawless, in-the-pocket rendition of Wayne Shorter’s mid ‘60s Blue Note masterpiece Speak No Evil, comes from the source: They performed with Shorter in a rare acoustic live date in Newark, NJ aired on National Public Radio. Johnny Mandel’s A Time for Love, and Dave Brubeck’s evergreen standard In Your Own Sweet Way, highlight Lightsey’s singing tone. Benny Golson’s From Dream to Dream is buoyed by Reed’s beautiful arco bass, while John Coltrane’s Giant Steps retains its breakneck post-bop structure, harmonically and thematically expanded on by the pianist and bassist. Sonny Rollins’s Oleo, the famous break tune, closes this set with the promise of more jazz to come.