Joel -- I listened through "What Was." It's a great song; Chick's record was SO influential Back In The Day and has my favorite playing from Miroslav Vitous.
Your pianist is an outstanding musician but seems to miss a certain 'lilt' or lightness of touch which characterizes Chick's playing on the record and generally. His playing seems just a little heavy and the music sags very slightly as a result. (I know; saying 'Your pianist isn't as good as Chick Corea' is like saying, 'A glowing ball appeared in the sky this morning.')
Your sound is great. You support great as one would expect of a player with your outstanding resume. Time is solid, intonation is not an issue. I bet you are busy and people smile when you're on the gig.
I admire the space and stillness you built into your solo. What I love about Vitous' work on the original is the way he builds music using a variety of speeds, registration, inside/outside harmonic tension, rhythmic tension, dynamics . . . the full panoply of the jazz bassist's tools. To my ear, your choice to utilize a more static pallet in most of those respects missed the opportunity to lift the piece. My advice, for what it's worth, is (more) time spent with George Mraz, Michael Moore and Ray Brown.
Hope this is constructive -- I sure would hate it if it reads as, "Hey Joel, you're not Miroslav Vitous" because your accurate response would be, "Hey Sam, you're a jerk."
Play on, brother.
