With the 2007 release of New Momentum on the Sonic Portraits Entertainment label, Irving has returned to recording under his own name. The CD was co-produced by Terri Lyne Carrington.
The CD is a Billboard Magazine "critics' choice" (highly recommended for musical merit).
An excerpt of a The Billboard Review article - April 7, 2007 (by Dan Ouellette):
Conspicuously absent as a leader since serving as Miles Davis’ fusion-oriented musical director in the ‘80’s, Robert Irving III returns in dramatic fashion on “New Momentum,” the premiere release for indie Sonic Portraits. The disc is largely an acoustic piano trio date, highlighted by Irving originals and two nods to his mentor’s ‘60’s repertoire: a buoyant cover of Davis’ “Seven Steps to Heaven” and a refined take on Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti”. What’s so remarkable about Irving’s return from obscurity is the fresh, vital sound, spurred by his pianistic dynamism, and infused with an imaginative improvisational approach that encompasses dancing tempo shifts and harmonic curves. Bassist Buster Williams costars, with arco support on the ballad “Primordial Waters”, low-end punch to the title track and a walking bass conversation with Irving on the midtempo groove tune “Always . . . Sometimes”.
Irving is also a painter. When he was a member of Miles Davis’ band, Davis encouraged him to take up painting. Irving actually began painting regularly in 1997, and has seen his work exhibited in a number of galleries.
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