Thermal Strut

Drummer Jay Lawrence has played with a range of pop artists and jazz musicians, though his name is probably not that well known. On Thermal Strut he is joined by seasoned bassist Lynn Seaton and the promising young pianist Tamir Hendelman (the latter who contributed many of the arrangements for this session). Lawrence clearly is a capable drummer but it is the playing of Hendelman, who has served with both the Jeff Hamilton Trio and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, that especially stands out. He recasts the swing favorite "Topsy" as an explosive hardbop vehicle, while his interpretation of Jimmy Rowles' lush ballad "The Peacocks" is a bit more melancholy in its spacious arrangement. Hendelman's sole original is the gorgeous ballad "Almost Summer", which conveys its message without getting overly sentimental.