Surf's Up

David Kikoski's fourth Criss Cross is another fine trio effort, featuring James Genus on bass and Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums. Quite unlike Kikoski's previous discs, however, this one features no original material at all. It begins with a surprising choice: Frank Zappa's "Oh No," from the Lumpy Gravy album, an intricate piece of work that Kikoski makes his own (cf. Mike Mainieri's version of "King Kong" on American Diary). The pianist honors another of rock's visionaries, Brian Wilson, with the title track, "Surf's Up," giving the obscure song a soaring treatment that stretches to nearly 14 minutes. For good measure, Kikoski also takes aim at several less-than-routine items from the bop canon: Charlie Parker's "Cardboard" and "Bird Feathers," Jackie McLean's "Little Melonae," and Thelonious Monk's challenging "Four in One." He rounds out the program with two contrasting Brazilian songs, Dolores Duran's "A Noite Do Meu Bem" and Joao Donato's "Muito a Vontade." Kikoski has firmly established himself as one of jazz's most distinguished pianists. Surf's Up shows that he is also an exceptional, risk-taking interpreter of non-jazz material. ~ David R. Adler