Xavi Reija, Reflections

From drummer Xavi Reija we have a thoroughly musical outing of himself and his trio (with Nitai Hershkovits on piano and Pau Lligadas on acoustic bass) doing a set of Reija originals. Reflections (self-released) captures contemporary piano trio jazz in exemplary form. The tunes are harmonically rich, changes oriented and both lyrical and driving, depending.

Hershkovits has a style that is out of Corea, post-Jarrett, Hancockian, and beyond to today. It's up-to-the minute fresh, with excellent technique and a singing projectiveness. Lligadas keeps the forward momentum grounded in the changes and helps keep that horizontal movement nicely structured. Xavi's drumming is driving, rhythmically creative, well conceived and in its own way a very important, critical contribution to the trio's melodic-propulsive brilliance.

And Xavi writes some very nice tunes that are as fresh as the trio's realization of them.

The more I play this one, the better it sounds to me. This is a trio that deserves wider exposure. They are firmly in the "art" realm of piano trio creating. Hear this.

Daniel Szabo, A Song from There, with Peter Erskine, Edwin Livingston

Of course one cannot do this literally, but when listening to new music it is a proper rule-of-thumb to throw away everything you know and listen as if you were from another planet. It can't happen because the listening mind-soul is always interjecting thoughts, like, "he sounds like x" or "what kind of music is this exactly?" Nonetheless it is the ideal state to hear improvised music, to be in the moment of it. I find myself distracted with thoughts like "do I want to review this?" but at some point I try to let the music just wash over me.

Daniel Szabo's piano trio album A Song from There (DSZABOMUSIC 1001) has the immediacy of modern jazz. If you let it, wash over you it does, in the best way. This is a pianist with his own story to tell, through originals and an excellent trio in bandmates Peter Erskine (drums) and Edwin Livingston (bass).

He doesn't quite sound like anybody, which is saying something. And he has a very well developed sense of time and rhythmic attack as well as melodic-harmonic acuity. That stands out on this, his third album.

Erskine and Livingston are with him all the way with a commitment to each composition and its demands, with distinctive motivic development, solo and accompaniment chops, and just a very large dose of "thereness".

Each number has its own qualities. Put them together and you have a major pianist with an ideal trio to give you state-of-right-now beauty and bite.

Daniel Szabo should be somebody that the future will embrace. Especially if he grows from here--an already substantially accomplished pianist. An original.

So whether you've heard this said before or not, Daniel Szabo has it! Very recommended.