Here’s a pianist that plays like he means it!
Marcus Persiani has Blue Note tones in his blood, well circulating on these two recent releases; one is a hard hitting trio and the other a vintage and classic sounding quintet
The first has him with Curtis Lundy/b and Emanuel Harrold/dr, who’s in an exuberant mood throughout. The team grooves hard on a fun read of Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing” with the sparks flying, while Persiani displays class and style over the brushes on a glistening “For Heaven’s Sake”. The team digs in deep on th 6/8 cadence of the crisp “Eda” and is nimble as they skip along “Footsteps’ Blues” before Persiani is as clear as Waterford Crystal on “La Puerta”. Get these guys on the road!
For the quintet unit, Persiani brings in tenor vet George Coleman to form an impressive front line with () that sounds like the second coming of Joe Henderson’s classic quintet with Kenny Dorham. The team has a Maiden Voyagish sound on the buoyant “Round House” while able to cast dark shadows on the mysterious “Voodoo Call”. Drummer () delivers a hip intro to “Little House Mouse” and sizzles under the horns on “Blue Dress Rehearsal”. Persiani doesn’t hog the spotlight here, serving more like a Horace Silver type, directing traffic on the groove’d highway. A haven for hard boppers.