Bomi Choi "Bomi's Homies"

Bomi Choi “Bomi’s Homies”
(Boboss Music/Mirrorball 2014)

Bomi Choi—drums
Wallace Roney—trumpet
David Wong—bass
David Kikoski—piano
Vincent Herring—alto sax

Drummers are often stereotyped as large and muscled, but Bomi Choi, who hails from Korea, is anything but that. Her sound, though is big and muscular, and powerful enough to drive the New York jazz heavyweights she records with on this marvelous CD. Strong she may be, but she stays nimble enough to keep the jazzmen on their toes.From the first song, an original by Choi, aptly named “Bomi’s Homies,” the band gets right into up-tempo hardworking jazz. The five members work together perfectly, with just the right blend of talents. The quintet creates sophisticated, contemporary jazz that is deeply satisfying and makes you itch for the replay button.Choi’s originals and arrangements are all elegant workouts, and the four jazz stalwarts work them into great shape. Her five originals, along with three standards nicely arranged by Choi, give everyone plenty of time to solo long and hard. Roney is especially prevalent all through. He’s clearly digging the tunes and flying along on top. Herring plays a bit under him, but in just the right way, almost like a clarinet would, sinking and rising, again and again. Kikoski and Wong give shots of energy all through, taking their cue from where Choi is pushing them.But of course, this is Choi’s CD, and she plays together well with the better-known, longer-experienced musicians. Actually, the feeling at times is more that the musicians are not supporting her but keeping up with her. Her playing is extremely fine and lithe, never overdone, with just the right touch on cymbals and drums.She plays in a way that attends to all parts of the song, too. Rather than just driving the beat, she plays the melody line, too. That creates a lot of interplay between the different sides to every song, and gives the feeling on each song of rich integration and musical fullness.It feels like these five have played together for a long time, but whether they really have or not, it’s clear everyone’s digging the workout. Bomi Choi comes from Korea, but it’s clear she’s not just from there. She comes from the heart of jazz, too.