Larry Corban, The Circle Starts Here

by Icrom Bigrad

New York City based guitarist Larry Corban along with upright bassist Harvie S and drummer Steve Williams teamed up to form a jazz trio. Though Larry Corban is less known on the jazz scene and his band mates have plenty of playing experience with Steve Williams having played the drums for more than 20 years with Shirley Horn, it does not lessen his ability to create an equal partner musically on his endeavor, The Circle Starts Here.

Corban is a talented songwriter as well as a gifted guitarist and both are on full display in his trio’s debut entitled The Circle Starts Here. The album contains 13 original songs written by Larry Corban and one was a contributed by Bowman Brooks. 

Like so many musicians, Larry Corban draws inspiration from other musicians and composers in all of his music. As a matter of fact he has a picture one of those artists named Django Reinhardt in the room where he practices. 

The Circle Starts Here opens with “Sideswiped” which you can immediately hear his distinct style with very clean lines and smooth chords, they all come together to get the album off to a burning start. As the songs continue you can definitely hear the inspiration he says he draws from Django Reinhardt who was a Belgian guitarist and pioneer of the swing guitar style.

Throughout the album it is obvious that the combination of the bass and drums from band mates Harvie S (upright bassist) and Steve Williams (drummer) was well thought out by Corban. Each element seems to feed off each other and create the perfect mix of sound.

Despite being a debut recoding, Corban plays with a much more old soul style which came out in several songs. He also shows a bit of a darker side to go along with the faster up-tempo selections on the album.

With the final selection of “East of the Sun,” the trio finishes the album with their take on an old jazz song written by Bowman Brooks. The final result is a fantastic jazz guitar album that you have to check out for yourself, a listen worth adding to any collection – and certainly if you are a jazz guitar enthusiast.

Album Tracks: Sideswiped; Bossa Barb; Enjoy the Ride; Seventh Dimension; The Second She Leaves On the Sly; Blink of an Eye; 3 Hours Late; Roll the Dice; Story Inside My Head; Dreamwheel; Wolf’s Den Hmm; East of the Sun.

Players: Harvie S (Bassist) and Steve Williams (Drummer)

Record Label: Nabroc Label