The Parts You Keep

This is an ambitious project from bassist Mike Pope. Trumpeter Randy Brecker, saxophonist Roxy Coss, and guitarist Amaury Cabral are guests, there are two duets with Mike's mother who plays beautiful classical piano, and there is a string section on two tracks. But it is the rhythm section of Pope, drummer Nate Smith, and pianist Geoffrey Keezer who demand your attention. Their groove on Charlie Parker's "Steeplechase" is worth the price of admission. Their gentle interplay on Pope's "Misgivings," and their unique take on "Giant Steps" are wonderful. Pope's arrangement of "That Old Feeling" for Randy Brecker with strings, and the quintet romp of "Barolo Blue" are very nice as well. The music world also needs to hear much more from Geoff Keezer, he has been around for many years and deserves much more acclaim. The two closing compositions (especially "Spharenmusik from Winterreigen Opus 13 No. 5") on which Mike features his mother playing classical piano are beautiful and quite good. The Parts You Keep is a very good folio of Mike Pope's extensive musical talents, he is an equally good arranger, composer, bandleader, and producer as he is a bassist, and he is an excellent bassist!