AMG Review of Live at the Jamboree: Guilty

David R. Adler
All Music Guide

This is one of a pair of discs recorded by Chris Cheek, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street, and Jorge Rossy during a four-night residency at Barcelona's ~Jamboree Club in early 2000. All the tunes are standards, save for Iverson's warped slow blues "Guilty." The group's ruminations are sometimes lengthy ("I Remember You" runs over 17 minutes) but consistently rewarding. Cheek offers some of his best playing on record, and Iverson's trio rendition of "'Round Midnight" is wildly inventive. Even "I'll Remember April" and "Autumn Leaves," two of the most overplayed items in jazz, come across as indispensable. Get the right people together and they'll always fascinate.