So, Sunday was Piano trio show. Those of you reading may or may not know that I am a sucker for the piano trios, because in my "esteemed" opinion, they are the soul of Jazz. The milk in the cream.
So many awesome piano trios exist that it's hard to come up with a list for one show, you know? But like I said, Jazz & The Soulful Truth is about biased Jazz programming, and so once more you get to hear what I like, and decide if you do too.
It's no secret that my favourite ever piano trio is the Keith Jarrett Trio with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock. I mean, come on, no contest. These guys just mix it up like you wouldn't believe and it's all based on the so called "Great American Songbook". Well OK, sometimes they cheat but you know, we allow that kind of stuff. On Sunday I played their version of "On Green Dolphin Street" that's on the 6 CD Box set Live At The Blue Note and it is just smokin! That track presents perfectly in its 21 minutes all of the Trio's virtues. Their unconventional treatment of a well known standard, their ability to make a song so widely interpreted to be exciting and new, and their divine gift of just making brilliant stuff up as they go. The final minutes are exhilarating, and they're not even based off the melody. You get that a lot with these guys. I'm excited to go see them play again, this time front row on Oct. 26. If you're in Boston, tickets are still available.
The Bill Evans Trio is a solid rock too, but it gets kind of boring to talk about, since there's so much praise and such an aura around them already. Basically anything you get by them is amazing, especially if it's the Scott LaFaro & Paul Motian recordings, or any one of the recordings with Eddie Gomez. Find out for yourself what you like best.
Last show I managed to squeeze in 3 ECM tracks, which is awesome given that they put out so much sublime recordings. Especially the Piano trio stuff. I've been very vocal about how much I enjoy Marcin Wasilewski and his trio on ECM, especially after blindly getting their 2003 debut on the label, entitled simply Trio and enjoying every minute of it. It's a very contemplative record, but there's enough moments on it to raise your heartbeat to a fast pulse and get you excited about what's coming next. They did a great job with their 2008 follow up, January, even recording some Ennio Morricone! Props to Manfred Eicher for having bet on their talents without usual 4th member, trumpeter Tomazs Stanko.
Another one of my personal favourites from the ECM gang is the Arild Andersen trio with Vasilis Tsabropolous and John Marshall. Again, they only produced two albums, but 2004's The Triangle is incredibly dextrous, and as the title suggests, it really revolves around the trio's interplay. Get it if you can find it.
And then come my favourite Italians, Enrico Pieranunzi and Stefano Bollani. These guys have been pushing the bar as far as piano music is concerned, and every one of their trio efforts are magical outings. Enrico Pieranunzi's Live In Paris would have to be a top 10 record in my books, because it's so damn INTENSE. Drummer Andre Ceccarelli (anyone notice I really like this guy?) and bass player Hein Van de Geyn just work with him so well on this, it's incredible. They storm through all kinds of music, from standards to themes by Pieranunzi, passing by Wayne Shorter and traditional Italian songs in the way, and it all flows like one big suite. It is a live recording, which means we can usually expect more excitement and enthusiasm, but this is one really special day that was luckily recorded for posterity. Try listening to this CD on any long plane or car ride. Two hours will go by faster than you can spell the musicians' names.
Anyways, I will keep on playing piano trio music on the show, since I love it so much, but Sunday was a nice little mix of things. I hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Oh, and before I forget, let's welcome the two new interns on the show, Alison Carter and Ben Cooper. I spent the off air time of the show last Sunday showing them around and preaching some (not unlike I do here), but they seem very enthusiastic about it. I've asked them to write something here, but I guess we'll have to wait until they're ready. Still, tune into their contributions, and I'm sure we're going to be hearing a lot of new stuff....
Hope you tune in next Sunday.
Keep Jazzin'
Mario
