Rudy Royston
‘Flatbed Buggy’
Greenleaf Music
In his Sixth Symphony,
Ludwig van Beethoven evokes everything from folk dances to thunderstorms to
capture the beauty of the countryside. On the wonderful new album “Flatbed
Buggy,” Rudy Royston takes a similar journey, employing a variety of musical
styles to paint a vivid, aural picture of his pastoral childhood, visiting his
father in Texas. Royston is a first-call jazz drummer, enhancing the music of
Bill Frisell, Branford Marsalis, Dave Douglas and numerous others, but “Flatbed
Buggy” transcends jazz.
Start with the
distinctive instrumentation: Gary Versace on accordion; John Ellis, bass
clarinet and saxophones; Hank Roberts, cello; and Joe Martin on bass. The
unusual combination of timbres somehow conjures up the feel of country life
throughout the album. Versace – an Eastman School of Music professor – is
especially strong, moving effortlessly from elegiac to lilting in his solos.
Royston not only plays subtly; he showcases his formidable skills as a composer
with beautiful tunes like “Soul Train,” “boy…MAN,” and “I Guess It’s Time to Go.”
This article appears in Mar 6-12, 2019.
