Modern jazz piano is more than just trios. Here are a couple excellent and fresh sounding presentations from the 88 ivories (or plastics, for those endangered specie-aware).
Arturo O’Farrill leads a flexible and assertive team of Livio Almeida/ts, Shawn Conley/b, Adam O’farrill/tp, Zack O’Farrill/dr and Travis Reuter/g (what, no guitarist in the family?). The band shows it can charge forward as on the driving pieces such as “Miss Stephanie” and the tricky “VFS.” The two horns maneuver well on the angular “True That” and handle the obstacle course of “In Whom I Am Well Pleased” with dexterity. The leader teams with Conley with a sinister sounding “Company Doug,” and glows as he toys with the rhythm section on “The Moon Follows Us Wherever We Go.” The album has a nice positive muscle to it, reflective of the O’Farrill’s positive faith.
Renee Rosnes delivers a seven part “Galapagos Suite” along with a team of Steve Nelson/vib, Peter Washington/b and Bill Stewart/dr along with guests Steve Wilson/woodwinds. You don’t have to be a Darwinist to delight in the creative work, as Wilson’s flute wisps through “The KT Boundary” as the piece opens as a duet and gradually builds up, while his alto glides through “Cambrian Explosion.” The pieces here segue into one another, and the mix of vibes and piano makes for wonderful kineticism. Rosnes’ piano is featured on the gorgeous “Written on the Rocks” while her thoughtful delivery of “From Hre to A Star” brims over with lyricism. Excellent work of Intelligent Design dedicated to Evolutionary thought.