Buddy Rich Trios 2LP (Translucent Orange Vinyl)

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When Buddy Rich and his Killer Force Band were at their peak, Buddy began to feature a trio segment, often twice a night. Buddy would exclusively use brushes rather than sticks, even in his drum solos. Young prodigy pianist Barry Kiener, who soon sadly died of an accidental overdose at the age of 30 (on Buddy's tour bus), was the magnificent lead instrument. Virtuoso bassist Jon Burr completed the trio on most of the songs. These never-before-released recordings are a true collector's item.

The notoriously temperamental Buddy Rich didn't know these recordings were being made by his then-saxophonist Alan Gauvin. The alto player was only able to capture these performances because his bandleader was giving he and the rest of the horn section a rest during their gigs and putting a spotlight on the group's rhythm section for a song or two. So while the quality of these tapes isn't perfect, the playing on these '70s era recordings certainly is. Joined by the late pianist Barry Kiener and either Jon Burr or Tom Warrington on bass, Rich switched to brushes and set about swinging and shuffling his way through a series of standards. Somehow, even after four decades of steady gigging and recording, the drummer was still able to apply a lot of power and dynamism into his playing throughout. And he knows right when to let up on the accelerator to let the other musicians pop out for their charged solos. Thoughtfully, Gauvin wraps up this double LP with a piano-only track as a way to pay tribute to Kiener, a long-overlooked player who passed away far too soon in 1986.