Precipice
by Michael G. Nastos
Denny Zeitlin's career as one of the greatest but woefully under-appreciated modern jazz pianists, may have taken a turn with the release of his early period Mosaic/Columbia trio reissue studio sessions, and several fine recordings for the Sunnyside label. This solo concert done at the Ralston House in Santa Barbara, CA recalls older standard favorites of Zeitlin's and adds on some of his beautifully conceived originals, exuding a spirit that suggests both renewal and determination of continuance. As a diversified modernist, Zeitlin is as easily capable of playing beautifully as he is of ripping up be-bop, but it is his advanced harmonic sense that sets him above and beyond most others. He's also capable of modal music, interpretations of show tunes, funky underpinnings, or introspective sounds that reflect his influences — Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, and Thelonious Monk. Perhaps originals like the playful, active "On the March" gives you more an indication of how ultra-melodic a performer Zeitlin can be, but when you hear the rhapsodic, romantic "The We of Us" there are more layers to reveal. Always a champion of jazz giants, Zeitlin tears the speedy Sonny Rollins bop standard "Oleo" as if child's play, and uses soul-stirring, cascading harmonics during Wayne Shorter's lesser-known "Deluge." Whether in tricky time signature, loving discourse of lyrical proportions, or the occasional angular flight of fancy, Denny Zeitlin's expertise shines through familiar music and the spontaneously derived jazz that marks his a true master of the idiom, time after time.
Jacky Terrasson
Push
by Michael G. Nastos
Jacky Terrasson's 11th CD and first for the Concord label is a lively affair, mostly in a trio setting with special guests spotted in, that addresses various avenues of contemporary jazz styles. Pop and Afro-Cuban or even South African flavors are sprinkled in with the technically challenging bop that the pianist excels in. Thelonious Monk Award-winning bassist from Michigan State University Ben Williams is in on this one, as well as cameo appearances from Gregoire Maret on harmonica and saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart amidst Terrasson's acoustic piano, occasional electric keyboards, and some vocalizing. Echoes of Jarrett, Flynn, or Ibrahim creep in as the gifted and oftentimes brilliant Terrasson bobs and weaves through this set of originals and highly modified versions of familiar tunes. A blurring fast "Beat Bop" hopped up with synthesizer accents, the contemporary "O Cafe, O Soleil" with Cyro Baptista's percussion work and handclapping reveling in the Capetown joy of Ibrahim, and the deliberate modal soul-funk of "Morning" all showcase vastly different interests for Terrasson. The pleasant pop trio jazz of "Gaux Girl" recalls Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl," while the combination of Jackson's "Beat It" with the revered standard "Body and Soul" might seem odd until you hear Terrasson's free jazz tinkling to rubato and modal ideas, a thoroughly contemporary development, even adding a waltz tempo. There are stock or straight-laced versions of "'Round Midnight" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" that in this collection sound unusually common, but are played with a high degree of artistry and prowess. Push is one of Terrasson's most enjoyable and diverse recordings, a fine display of how he has both grown apart from what might be musically fashionable and matured exponentially.
Renato Sellani Trio
Grand Piano: The Music Of Michel Legrand
By Leonardo Barroso
Desde que conheci o pianista Renato Sellani, sempre achei parecido com o finado Hank Jones. Sendo assim nunca foi dos meus favoritos. Porem alguns discos causam surpresa, como este com músicas somente do grande Michel Legrand, acompanhado dos músicos Massimo Manzi(Drums) e Massimo Moriconi(Bass) e de várias das melhores músicas do mundo. Um CD para ouvir com prazer. Alguem sabe a marca do piano nesta gravação ?
Stefano Bollani
Stone In The Water
Push
by Michael G. Nastos
Jacky Terrasson's 11th CD and first for the Concord label is a lively affair, mostly in a trio setting with special guests spotted in, that addresses various avenues of contemporary jazz styles. Pop and Afro-Cuban or even South African flavors are sprinkled in with the technically challenging bop that the pianist excels in. Thelonious Monk Award-winning bassist from Michigan State University Ben Williams is in on this one, as well as cameo appearances from Gregoire Maret on harmonica and saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart amidst Terrasson's acoustic piano, occasional electric keyboards, and some vocalizing. Echoes of Jarrett, Flynn, or Ibrahim creep in as the gifted and oftentimes brilliant Terrasson bobs and weaves through this set of originals and highly modified versions of familiar tunes. A blurring fast "Beat Bop" hopped up with synthesizer accents, the contemporary "O Cafe, O Soleil" with Cyro Baptista's percussion work and handclapping reveling in the Capetown joy of Ibrahim, and the deliberate modal soul-funk of "Morning" all showcase vastly different interests for Terrasson. The pleasant pop trio jazz of "Gaux Girl" recalls Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl," while the combination of Jackson's "Beat It" with the revered standard "Body and Soul" might seem odd until you hear Terrasson's free jazz tinkling to rubato and modal ideas, a thoroughly contemporary development, even adding a waltz tempo. There are stock or straight-laced versions of "'Round Midnight" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" that in this collection sound unusually common, but are played with a high degree of artistry and prowess. Push is one of Terrasson's most enjoyable and diverse recordings, a fine display of how he has both grown apart from what might be musically fashionable and matured exponentially.
Renato Sellani Trio
Grand Piano: The Music Of Michel Legrand
By Leonardo Barroso
Desde que conheci o pianista Renato Sellani, sempre achei parecido com o finado Hank Jones. Sendo assim nunca foi dos meus favoritos. Porem alguns discos causam surpresa, como este com músicas somente do grande Michel Legrand, acompanhado dos músicos Massimo Manzi(Drums) e Massimo Moriconi(Bass) e de várias das melhores músicas do mundo. Um CD para ouvir com prazer. Alguem sabe a marca do piano nesta gravação ?
Stefano Bollani
Stone In The Water
By Leonardo Barroso
Stefano Bollani é na minha opinião o melhor músico de jazz da atualidade. Suas obras são sempre inovadoras e sempre em busca da melhor formação,ou seja, solo/trio/etc... O trio é o mesmo do otimo Gleda:Songs From Scandinavia, assim sendo assume Bollani seu ego nórdico caracterizado pela beleza de interpretação e firmeza de execução. Na primeira vez que ouvi, não achei este um de seus melhores trabalhos, mas como sempre sua musica vai causando surpresa a medida em que a audição é mais intensa. Não sei ainda se é seu melhor trabalho mas sem duvida, é muito bom !!!!!
By John Kelman
Serendipity can be a wonderful thing. Invited to perform with 2002 JazzPar prize-winner, trumpeter Enrico Rava, pianist and fellow Italian Stefano Bollani first encountered bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund when they were proposed as the rhythm section for the Danish award show and a brief tour. The chemistry was on such a deep level that Bollani, Bodilsen, and Lund decided to continue as a trio. Seven years and two albums on the Danish Stunt label later, Stone In The Water finally gives the trio the international exposure it deserves. Aesthetically akin, in some ways, to Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson's trio, it's the year's most sublime piano trio recording, where silence and the power of understatement are as definitive as the virtuosity that underscores this group's uncanny empathy.
Stone In The Water's soft, elegant mix of original material from Bollani and Bodilsen is augmented by two Brazilian songs and—referencing Bollani's ECM leader debut, 2007's Piano Solo—an improvisation based on the music of classical composer Francois Poulenc. Each player's fluidity alone combines into a one-hour set that occasionally comes to a simmer , as it does on Bollani's "Asuda," but never reaches a boil; a very good thing as the trio seems to hover over that tipping point, creating a delicate strength that contrasts with profound implication.
Bollani may play Rava's Puckish foil when the two perform together as a duo but, despite no shortage of improvisational playfulness here, it's less comedic, and more finely attuned to the inherent compositional beauty. Brazilian songwriter Caetano Veloso's "Dom de iludir" opens the disc, with decaying notes, spare chords, and economical yet powerful melodies setting the tone for the rest of the disc. In a true evolution of the Bill Evans tradition, Bodilsen provides a consistent lyrical foil for Bollani and, when it's the pianist out front, the bassist's unerringly modest choices make this a definitive reading.
Modest is a good way to describe this trio. Despite its clear facility, this is a listening trio, with egos checked at the door. Lund, in particular, impresses with his refined sense of swing and unfailing allegiance to a groupspeak that's about collective voice rather than individual grandstanding.
And yet, it's impossible not to appreciate this trio's harmonic sophistication and overall technical skill, as it refines and modernizes a jazz tradition merged with European impressionism. "Bollani's "Il cirvello del pavone" may begin with a hint of Monk-ish angularity, but Bollani's light, dancing touch is a far cry from the legendary pianist's quirky ideation, as the piece moves to a bass solo where support is so elusive as to only reveal itself when taken as the sum of its parts.
Whether it's the more heated exchange of Bollani's solo on "Il cirvello" or the darker exchange on Bodilsen's indigo-shaded "Edith," Stone In The Water lives up to its name. Like ever expanding ripples, this trio's music is a constantly expanding soundscape of color and finely honed lyricism; the culmination of seven years playing with egos in check and ears wide open.
Track listing:
Don de iludir; Orvieto; Edith; Brigas nunca mais; Il cervello del pavone; Un sasso nello stagno; Improvisation 13 en la mineur; Asuda; Joker in the village.
Personnel: Stefano Bollani: piano; Jesper Bodilsen: double-bass; Morten Lund: drums.
By John Kelman
Serendipity can be a wonderful thing. Invited to perform with 2002 JazzPar prize-winner, trumpeter Enrico Rava, pianist and fellow Italian Stefano Bollani first encountered bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund when they were proposed as the rhythm section for the Danish award show and a brief tour. The chemistry was on such a deep level that Bollani, Bodilsen, and Lund decided to continue as a trio. Seven years and two albums on the Danish Stunt label later, Stone In The Water finally gives the trio the international exposure it deserves. Aesthetically akin, in some ways, to Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson's trio, it's the year's most sublime piano trio recording, where silence and the power of understatement are as definitive as the virtuosity that underscores this group's uncanny empathy.
Stone In The Water's soft, elegant mix of original material from Bollani and Bodilsen is augmented by two Brazilian songs and—referencing Bollani's ECM leader debut, 2007's Piano Solo—an improvisation based on the music of classical composer Francois Poulenc. Each player's fluidity alone combines into a one-hour set that occasionally comes to a simmer , as it does on Bollani's "Asuda," but never reaches a boil; a very good thing as the trio seems to hover over that tipping point, creating a delicate strength that contrasts with profound implication.
Bollani may play Rava's Puckish foil when the two perform together as a duo but, despite no shortage of improvisational playfulness here, it's less comedic, and more finely attuned to the inherent compositional beauty. Brazilian songwriter Caetano Veloso's "Dom de iludir" opens the disc, with decaying notes, spare chords, and economical yet powerful melodies setting the tone for the rest of the disc. In a true evolution of the Bill Evans tradition, Bodilsen provides a consistent lyrical foil for Bollani and, when it's the pianist out front, the bassist's unerringly modest choices make this a definitive reading.
Modest is a good way to describe this trio. Despite its clear facility, this is a listening trio, with egos checked at the door. Lund, in particular, impresses with his refined sense of swing and unfailing allegiance to a groupspeak that's about collective voice rather than individual grandstanding.
And yet, it's impossible not to appreciate this trio's harmonic sophistication and overall technical skill, as it refines and modernizes a jazz tradition merged with European impressionism. "Bollani's "Il cirvello del pavone" may begin with a hint of Monk-ish angularity, but Bollani's light, dancing touch is a far cry from the legendary pianist's quirky ideation, as the piece moves to a bass solo where support is so elusive as to only reveal itself when taken as the sum of its parts.
Whether it's the more heated exchange of Bollani's solo on "Il cirvello" or the darker exchange on Bodilsen's indigo-shaded "Edith," Stone In The Water lives up to its name. Like ever expanding ripples, this trio's music is a constantly expanding soundscape of color and finely honed lyricism; the culmination of seven years playing with egos in check and ears wide open.
Track listing:
Don de iludir; Orvieto; Edith; Brigas nunca mais; Il cervello del pavone; Un sasso nello stagno; Improvisation 13 en la mineur; Asuda; Joker in the village.
Personnel: Stefano Bollani: piano; Jesper Bodilsen: double-bass; Morten Lund: drums.
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