Craig Hartley, Books On Tape, Vol. 1

A title that is a kind of spoof starts off this review. Pianist Craig Hartley has called his recent album Books On Tape, Vol. 1 (Self-Released) but neither is it "on tape" nor is it a book. Craig Hartley instead gives us a full set of his piano, his trio and a few guests dropping in for a few cuts.

Craig explains in the liners that the compositions (eight in all plus one standard) came in some way out of his life experiences, so in that sense this is like a book. It captures some of Craig's life through his music. On the other hand there is a piece called "Books On Tape" to be found on the disk. Craig explains that the piece was inspired by spending many hours in the Yale practice rooms and how much different music one could hear simultaneously in the background while practicing there.

In any case Craig Hartley plays in a bop-and-after zone. He is a changes-oriented player, I won't say in the manner of Bill Evans because Hartley has an improvisatory originality-in-tradition that has something to do with Evans and the harmonically rich invention that surrounds his way, but there is also an articulate after-bop lining quality that Craig has that is original in its very swinging fashion--that looks to bop-liner right-hand-horn pianists (which of course Evans was too, especially towards the end) and does something with that as well.

The trio is a good one in Carlo De Rosa on bass and Henry Cole on drums. They give Hartley the platform to launch off of and swinging happens consistently. Fabio Morgera joins on trumpet for two cuts and most definitely adds something to the proceedings. Vocalist Dida Pelled lends her voice to one tune, a nice ballad.

The compositional Hartley is critical here. These are more than blowing tunes and he writes some good ones. But Hartley the pianist is the focus and he comes off modern and rooted in a way worth hearing.

More!

Ahmad Jamal, Saturday Morning

From his classic trio sides in the fifties and sixties on, Ahmad Jamal has always had a distinct, almost big-band division of labor vision of how piano, bass and drums should work together. Seminal is a word that may be overused, but it certainly applies to those earlier sides.

The good news is that Ahmad and his new incarnation of the trio (plus congas/percussion on occasion) sound as good as ever, yet in close touch with the present. His Blue Moon release (see earlier post by typing in the title in the search box) established that strongly. Now with Saturday Morning (Jazz Village) we have a fine continuation of the revived Jamal.

The program of ballads, standards and a few rock-funk beat numbers brings out the very best in Jamal and the trio. Throughout you hear that pioneering use of space, the inventive smarts of his solo interjections and the rhythm section's heightened role, the ostinatos that set up Jamal's entrances, and of course Jamal's chordally full contrasts with single note expressions; it's all there. But it has evolved, too. He has not stood still.

And it's a true pleasure to hear. Viva Mr. Jamal and his group. Hear this one and you will be made happy, I suspect.