Seven years after the unprecedented ECM debut, Nothing Ever Was, Anyway, and three years after the stellar Amaryllis, pianist Marilyn Crispell gives listeners another trip down her ever deepening cavern of mystery and imagination. Teamed once again with drummer and composer Paul Motian and new bassist Mark Helias, Crispell builds an even sturdier tension bridge between her increasing focus on harmonic and melodic interplay and dynamic intensity. The polarities are the immediate way into this set, which is so full of ambiguities and spectral presences one could say it is haunted. Crispell's physicality is held in check for most of the proceedings here, but it is ever present. There is a tautness to these performances that is held firmly by the steady, sinewy rhythmic direction of Helias (who contributed two fine tunes to this set)…

Vignettes marks Crispell's solo piano debut with the label and, after listening through a couple of times, one wonders what took her so long. The pianist on this recording barely resembles the fiery player and improviser who accompanied Anthony Braxton for many years, or the musician who led her own intense ensembles or played hourlong improvised solos that had their roots in the physical approaches of Cecil Taylor and McCoy Tyner.
That said, Vignettes reflects another path of the simply startling development and change in Crispell's recent approach. Crispell has spent a great deal of time in Scandinavia listening to other artists who also record for ECM and other labels. This was first noted apparently when she heard bassist Anders Jormin, whose "less is more" approach also involved the use of folk music from the region in his playing…

For its third ECM outing, the Marcin Wasilewski Trio expands the precious spaces delineated to such patient effect on TRIO and January. A pianist of uncommon insight, Wasilewski brings out the minimal best in bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz, who in turn inspire reflections on those keys that might not otherwise reveal themselves in solitude.
Faithful represents a new direction. It favors protracted treatments and heightened sensitivity. The trio plays as it breathes, knowing just when to pause before moving on. Particularly well recorded, with just the right balance of intimacy and the infinity beyond it, it lives in soft focus. If you wish to know to whom they are being faithful, you need only turn the CD over and look at your reflection.

Jazz pianist Beegie Adair has undertaken a series of songbook recordings devoted to particular songwriters of the classic pop era, calling them the "romantic songs of," each one, even though she isn't particularly strict about that definition. This one of music by Irving Berlin is typical. (In what sense are "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "White Christmas," or "God Bless America" "romantic songs"? Since no one is singing the lyrics, maybe it doesn't matter.) Adair leads a trio through instrumental treatments that adhere closely to the melodies most of the time, although she does introduce variations and brief improvisations. More adventurous jazz fans may find the results tame, but casual music lovers can program this disc beside previously issued ones of the music of George Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael to accompany a candlelight dinner.

Near the beginning of his career, Michel Legrand was primarily known as a jazz pianist, so it shouldn't be surprising to learn that none of his compositions are present on these 1959 studio sessions, which were issued by Phillips. With bassist Guy Pederson and drummer Gus Wallez, Legrand covers songs by French composers of the day along with the ever-popular "Moulin Rouge" and a somewhat upbeat arrangement of Edith Piaf's usually maudlin "La Vie en Rose," as well as standards from the Great American Songbook by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Vernon Duke, and Mack Gordon. Most of the songs have a Parisian theme to them. Legrand's piano style is hard to define, as he shows a variety of influences without letting any of them overwhelm his sound…

Although not initially released until 1992, 25 years after composer Billy Strayhorn's death, this is his definitive CD. Strayhorn is heard singing "Lush Life" while backed by the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1964 (his voice is not strong but his phrasing is quite sincere), jamming on piano with flügelhornist Clark Terry and Bob Wilbur (on clarinet and soprano) in a quintet, backing singer Ozzie Bailey, and taking a pair of piano solos ("Love Came" and "Baby Clementine"). These are very valuable and intriguing recordings, shedding some new light on a nearly invisible genius.

Jarrett’s solo concert tradition continues with two highly creative performances of recent vintage - from Paris’s Salle Pleyel on November 26, 2008, followed by London’s Royal Festival Hall on December 1. The English date was Jarrett’s first London solo concert in many years and, in the words of one reviewer, “triggered the sort of ecstasy that might greet a returning prophet”. As with “Radiance” and “The Carnegie Hall Concert”, the music covers a wide arc of expression, as “that old Jarrett magic forges majestically on” (The Guardian).

A Pittsburgher like the late Earl “Fatha” Hines, Ahmad Jamal is also, like Hines, one of the towering piano individualists in jazz—nearing age 90 at the time of this resplendent solo release. Little did we know he was cajoled into recording some solo piano during the sessions that yielded his 2017 full-band album Marseille. The result, Ballades, is an imaginative set that allows Jamal to roam free, though he brings in regular bassist James Cammack on three tracks, including the opening “Marseille” (version number four, following the three from the previous album). There’s also an out-of-tempo reading of “Poinciana,” Jamal’s signature number dating back to the late ’50s, ruminative and dreamy without reference to the drumbeat that made the tune famous. Whether playing standards or originals, or even venturing into late-period Bill Evans with “Your Story,” Jamal turns the keyboard into a magisterial canvas.

The reason to mention the "particulars" of this document of informal sessions is because Keith Jarrett went to the trouble of doing so in his liner notes: they came about in the aftermath of he and Charlie Haden playing together during Ramblin' Boy, a documentary film about Haden. The duo, who hadn't played together in over 30 years, got along famously and decided to do some further recording in Jarrett's Cavelight home studio without an end result in mind. The tapes sat - though were discussed often - for three years before a decision was made to release some of them. Jasmine is a collection of love songs; most are standards played by two stellar improvisers. Picking out highlights on this eight-song, hour-long set is difficult because the dry warmth of these performances is multiplied by deeply intuitive listening and the near symbiotic, telepathic nature of the playing…

During the 1970s, solo piano box sets were rare. When Keith Jarrett's monolithic, ten-LP solo box, Sun Bear Concerts, arrived from ECM in 1978, the only comparable collection was The Tatum Solo Masterpieces, a six-disc set of the pianist's '50s sides. Jarrett's five Japanese concerts from November of 1976 in Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo were completely improvised and gloriously recorded by engineer Okihiro Sugano. Most jazz critics greeted it as a seminal work that set Jarrett apart from his peers.
When he hits a mysterious minor ninth to open the first concert in Kyoto, all bets are off. For nearly 80 minutes he balances tension with release, the pastoral with the cosmopolitan…

When jazz vocalist Freddy Cole sings, it's with a built-in groove that's unshakeable, with warm, honeyed tones that wrap the lyrics in velvet and set them down firmly in the pocket. Cole has one great little album here; if you thought it was impossible to produce a modern-day jazz vocal album that's not infused with endless oodles-of-noodles riffing that shows you nothing except the ability of the vocalist to sing everything but the melody, be prepared for greatness. With a small combo led by pianist Cedar Walton and tenor saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., Cole has a backdrop that never gets in the way of his magic nor does anything that doesn't help the song. Timber-wise, he owes a lot of his phrasing to his older brother, Nat "King" Cole, and Francis Albert Sinatra, but Freddy ultimately remains his own man and that's what makes this album such a success. Ten or 12 stars, at least.

Another gem from the creative Beegie Adair and her trio. This time, she is accompanied by Jeff Steinberg and his orchestra. A loving tribute to Tony Bennett and his illustrious career. As usual, Beegie includes one selection on the album where she plays solo piano and she picked 'I Left My Heart In San Francisco'. A beautiful rendition. This is a great album tinged with jazz overtones without losing the melodic memories of Tony's original sound. The orchestra is perfectly balanced and adds just the right touch while still allowing the familiar Beegie Adair Trio sound to shine through. If you are new to Beegie's music, this album will make you a convert to her impeccable sound and those like myself, have added it as another gem to her large catalog of great music.

Teddy Wilson covers a dozen songs by George Gershwin on this live date with bassist Arvell Shaw and drummer Bert Dahlander. All of the music had been in Wilson's repertoire for some time at this point in his career, so his playing seems effortless. The sequencing is a bit unusual, in that all of the faster numbers, including a very brisk "Liza" and "Oh, Lady be Good" (powered by Dahlander's brushwork), are on the first side, while all of the ballads, including a lush "Summertime" and an inventive "Bess, You is My Woman Now," are heard on the second half. Wilson is in top form with his typically eloquent yet swinging style. Shaw is given a number of solo opportunities, displaying his superb arco bass technique in "Nice Work If You Can Get It" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay."