Nicki Parrott

Concrete Jungle
Nicki Parrott (db)
Ron Jackson (gui), Lafayette Harris, Jr. (pf), Sam Newsome (sop sax), Dion Parson (dr), Cafe (perc)
Airmen Records AROO7

Nicki Parrott is a 30-year-old Australian jazz bassist who is making her mark in the Big Apple. In 1984 she won a grant to study with Rufus Reid and has since built up an impressive list of musical collaborators including Clark Terry, Dale Barlow, Al Grey, Slide Hampton and Bucky Pizzarelli.

On this recording, Parrott and guitarist husband Ron Jackson are joined by label-owner Lafayette Harris, Jr. on piano, saxophonist Sam Newsome, Dion Parson on drums and a percussionist called Cafe. All play well on a mix of essentially middle-of-the-road but varied vehicles including blues, calypso, samba, soft-rock, and straight-ahead jazz pieces.

Parrott demonstrates some fine bass playing and her style owes a lot to the redoubtable Reid. She shares his positive attacking sound and no-nonsense swinging bass lines. Her improvised solos are well constructed and melodic, and she ventures quite high on the instrument with confidence and good intonation. In the lovely Old Country she plays the melody twice, in two different octaves, and goes into an inventive improvised solo. She then plays immaculate accompanist to guitar and drum solos and takes the melody at the end. In each role she excels.

Parrott swaps her double bass for a five-string bass guitar a couple of times on the album, although she probably doesn’t really need to. She also brings three good original tunes and some well-crafted arrangements to the project and, altogether, makes a big contribution to a successful album.