David Kikoski - Weekend At Smalls

Jazz

Who would turn down an invitation to Smalls to hear the David Kikoski Trio?

Probably neither you nor I. After all, this star-studded trio, as you already know, is among the most effective in today’s jazz world, pulling listeners instantly into a post-bebop atmosphere with compositions not only by the pianist himself but also by Randy Brecker, and, as if that weren’t enough, Thelonious Monk’s Straight No Chaser. In other words, we are in the presence of a rare moment of musical grace.

Long a fixture of the New York jazz scene, David Kikoski has lent his virtuosity to ensembles led by Roy Haynes, Michael and Randy Brecker, and the Mingus Big Band, which earned a Grammy in 2011 for Live at the Jazz Standard. Recorded at the legendary West Village jazz haven in the fall of 2024, two concert nights and a Monday session before a small invited audience—Weekend at Smalls captures Kikoski at the height of his powers, joined by bassist Joe Martin, drummer Billy Hart, and guest trumpeter Randy Brecker.

Smalls itself is a piece of living history. Its walls have absorbed decades of music from virtually every major American jazz artist. Kikoski has long made it a second home, so it feels almost inevitable that such an album would be born here. This live set, beautifully recorded, places the listener right in the center of the action, surrounded by the warmth, clarity, and brilliance of the ensemble. Billy Hart’s subtle, endlessly inventive drumming has always been remarkable; Randy Brecker—whom I had the privilege of filming in Europe in the 1990s, remains one of the world’s essential trumpet voices, equally at home in any jazz idiom, able to absorb and reframe the many cultural influences embedded in the music.

Kikoski’s relationship with Smalls runs deep. A fellow pianist and longtime colleague of club owner Spike Wilner, he recalls sitting in on jam sessions there early in his career before becoming a fixture on the bandstand. “Spike started giving me gigs, which I really appreciated,” Kikoski says. “Many of the best bands in New York played there, and I was happy to be part of it, both as a leader and a sideman.” Their shared generation and influences forged a bond, hours of conversation about favorite pianists and mutual touchstones of the tradition.

He also sees Mezzrow, the intimate piano lounge Wilner opened in 2014 directly across Seventh Avenue, as the spiritual successor to the legendary Bradley’s. “It has the same piano-bar atmosphere,” Kikoski notes. “Sometimes there’s drums, horns, or guitar, but the vibe is really centered on the piano, just like at Bradley’s. There aren’t many places like that left.”

The thread connecting Kikoski to Randy Brecker goes back to 1986, when the trumpeter invited him to join the group for In the Idiom, a landmark session with Joe Henderson and Al Foster. The two went on to tour extensively, often alongside saxophonist Bob Berg in a long-running quartet.

On Weekend at Smalls, Kikoski revisits some of his earlier works. “Shadow,” first recorded on his 1994 self-titled album with the late Al Foster, gets a new reading here. A few years after that original release, Billy Hart had heard it on the radio and recorded his own version with Chris Potter on soprano saxophone. “I thought it would be great to do it again, and Randy had never played it before,” Kikoski says. “The changes are more contemporary and modal, and Randy plays it beautifully. Joe’s sense of time and intonation are just amazing, and the tune really brings out the best in everyone. It was a joy to revisit it with Billy.”

One could call this an album among friends, and indeed these musicians know one another inside and out, but what stands out most is the way they have developed a common language that melts seamlessly into Kikoski’s playing. The result is music that is not only beautiful, deep, and sincere, but also striking for its rigor. The architecture of these compositions is demanding, which only heightens the achievement. What emerges is more than a concert recording: it is a historic document, destined to stand as a marker in the ongoing story of New York jazz.

Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News

PARIS-MOVE, September 4th 2025

Follow PARIS-MOVE on X