Kim Paterson with The Mike Nock Trio – Lake Rd (Thick Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
The ‘Auckland Father of Jazz’, Kim Paterson, has teamed up with lifelong friend and fellow legend Mike Nock, both inductees to the Music Hall of Fame, to produce Lake Rd. Nock brings his current trio players Cameron Undy on bass and drummer Nick McBride playing a collection of standards, a self-penned track and one from an unusual quarter by way of an Indian guru.
Perhaps standards is a misnomer as these tracks permeate from the fringes of jazz history, or are less well-known numbers from household names all with the update of the Paterson free style.
The album also features a cameo on voice and flute from Nathan Haines, a contemporary legend in his own right, sublime guitar work from Roy Venkataramen and some beautifully bowed bass by Andrew Atill.
Paterson’s name has rarely featured up front on the many recordings he’s worked on over 60 plus years in the business: his first solo recording wasn’t released until 1997 and Lake Rd will only be the 5th as leader.
This album will be the second co-lab with Mike Nock and Nathan Haines, the first being the critically-acclaimed The Duende, released in 2012 that rounded off a relatively prolific period of three albums in three years for Paterson.
Lake Rd comes hot on the heels of Conversations where Paterson mixed up the flugel horn and trumpet with Fender Rhodes-playing Alex Ventler released earlier this year and featuring more familiar tunes from the past as well as a couple of Paterson’s own creations.
On Lake Rd, Paterson ditches the Flugel horn to concentrate on the trumpet. He took his main inspiration from Miles Davis after hearing the 1957 release Walkin’ and has even been called the New Zealand Miles Davis. And, occasionally, Paterson delivers the staccato, punchy voice of of his hero. But Paterson’s playing also recalls the more melancholic and soulful playing of Chet Baker, which feels even more apt when Haines chimes in with his breathy, laid-back vocal.
The album opens with Thelonius Monk’s Think Of One, by far the most familiar number on this recording. Paterson leads the melody with some bright, punchy blowing, the Mike Nock trio doing a great job of creating a frenetic bop backing. The ensemble set out their aspirations for the listener on this track showcasing their skills honed over nearly 200 years of collective experience.
Jimmy Rowles’ 502 Blues is next out of the bag, a languid, laid-back cool piece. Nock shows some deft touches over Undy’s wandering bass and excellent brushwork by McBride. Paterson’s efforts take the listener to places rarely visited and the journey’s not always comfortable but it is enlightening.
I Fall In Love Too Easily is Haines’ introduction to Lake Rd. It’s a syrupy, smooth and seductive song penned by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn who made their names writing musicals for Broadway in the decades following WWII. Haines carries the track with excellent phrasing and a slight hoarsness, a result of his health battles, adding emotional undertones. With Nock’s faultless piano and Paterson rounding out the contributions, the sparseness of the production helps to deliver the hopelessness of the songs message and probably feels most like a standard on this LP.
Wayne Shorter’s saxophone is substituted by Paterson’s trumpet on Fe Fi Fo Fum, jumping in from the start to lead the group on another languid stroll around the musical garden. Nock’s fingers get a bit of a work out running up and down the keys, McBride’s beat a little more up tempo, quickly moving through time signatures and Undy never relents on the pace with his bass.
One of the biggest surprises and treats on Lake Rd is the mysterious track 5, Gudjerati Arti. It’s a thought-provoking and beautifully worked tune influenced by the prayer song by Meher Baba, Gujarati Aarti traditionally sung at day-break to women mandali. Paterson travelled to India where he learnt of Meher Baba, influencing his ideas and philosophy ever since. The track is mournful and complex with Venkataramen’s guitar work echoing a haunting sitar and the bowed bass by Atill helping to create a softer, sombre backing. Haines gets to flutter his flute through the piece adding colour and imagery conjuring a waking day while Paterson delivers a sound full of sadness and soul, Nock bringing some grounding piano interspersed with flickers of light. Sadly it lasts just a little over 6 minutes. It’s a track I could play over and over…
The extraordinary Eric Dolphy provides the next composition, 245, from the 1960 album Outward Bound, the first recording under Dolphy’s own name and launching him fully into the spotlight as one of the all-time greats. Paterson’s horn replaces the composer’s sax with an incredible opening sequence of trumpet mirrored by Undy bowing his bassline. Some tight rhythm from McBride and just the right amount of piano from Nock completes this number. It’s a wander through the New York streets, the hustle and bustle, faces, traffic, noise and peace. A standout!
Track 7, Centre Of My Heart, brings us Paterson’s only original composition on this release. He’s written many tunes over the years that are worth exploring, and this introduces us to Paterson’s mastery of words as well as music.
I see your form in everything
And I hear the silence that you sing
And I feel your love awakening
The centre of my heart
Haines sings, Nock brings a combination of flourish and restraint and Paterson is suitably sparse. The space in this song allowing the listener to engage with every element of time and tone in this beautifully romantic, almost nostalgic piece. A real classic.
The penultimate track is a chart-topper from 1931, Sweet And Lovely written by Gus Arnheim, Charles N. Daniels, and Harry Tobias. The Bossa Nova rhythm produced by Undy and McBride and Nock’s ambient chord work allows Paterson to explore new territory on an old song. Nock, similarly, plays with the tune in a wonderful solo, both artists showing how to free-up and enjoy the possibilities in a performance that is light years away from the original.
Lake Rd closes with a cover of Time by Ritchie Powell who died alongside his wife in a car accident at the tender age of 24, just on the cusp of recognition of his prodigious talent. Paterson and the Mike Nock trio respectfully keep this one slow and melancholic with, again, space in the recording bringing meaning to every phrase, every chord change, every exploration in a masterful show of musicianship and improvisation. If ever you needed a swansong, tribute or show of respect, this track exemplifies all those qualities and more.
Alex Robertson
The album is available on www.thickrecords.co.nz and streaming sites from October 8, 2025.
