Pianist Aaron Diehl takes some time away from touring with Cecile McLoren Salvant to show what he can do with his own team. This trio outing with bassist Paul Sikivie and drummer Gregory Hutchinson is a gorgeously melodic and impressionistic affair, emphasizing gracious and soft moods. Don’t let that make you think that the pieces are “simple” by any means; there is a complexity in this simplicity that is delectable.
The one upbeat tune is a peppy bopper with Hutchinson’s high hat brimming along on a clever take of Prokofiev’s “March From Ten Pieces For Piano”. Other than that, you get a spacious “Park Slope” and sublime “Magnanamous Disgues and some lurking dark keys on “Lamia”. Sikivie’s bass is thoughtful on “Treasure’s Past” and warm on “A Story Often Told, Seldom Heard”. Most clever is a pastoral read of Philip Glass’s “Piano Etude No. 16” with rich caresses of the ivories. This one’s a gorgeous collection of piano pastels.