The piano still has things to say. Here are a pair of interpreters.
Bongwool Lee forms a trio with Kendrick Scott/dr and Luques Curtis/b for a collection of mostly originals. The sole cover is a pastel themed “Bye Bye Blackbird” which as the leader sashay with Scott’s brushes, while Lee goes elegiac on a solo “Burning Incense.” The team gets assertive on “Repeating Nightmares” and is fun and quirky as Scott gets everyone snappy on “After the Black Dog” Taylor Eigsti brings his Fender Rhodes in for a soulful strutter on “Why Not” which helps round out the fresh sounding session. Check her out!
Veteran pianist Bill Anschell joins together with Jeff Johnson/b and D’Vonne Lewis/dr for some original readings of jazz standards. A slower than expected “A Night In Tunsia” has Anschell probing deeply while he plays hide and seek with Johnson on “Cheek to Cheek.” Lewis’ cymbal dances on a bluesy and chiming “Jitterbug Waltz” while the team paints a impressionistic spaciousness on “Soul Eyes.” Anschell has a gorgeous touch throughout, working like a diamond cutter on the elegant “You and the Night and the Music” and seductive on “All of You.” This is a jazz piano!