Pianist Giorgi Mikadze leads a creative and unified trio with Francois Moutin/b and Raphael Pannier/dr through some well crafted originals on this release. You hear a dash of influences like Evans her and Cedar Walton there, but he’s really got his own style, and it’s a good one. The team is unusually cohesive, doing some fantastic give and take like a tug of war on the dynamic “A Magic Egg” while contrasting the on time backbeat with a restrained piano barely holding back on “Wind Takes It Away”. Mikadze gives a rich and reflective intro to “After The Tale” before letting the bandmates build up to a funky closing. He’s crystalline around Moutin’s dominant bass during “Dolls Are Laughing” and canters to Pannier’s undercurrent rustle of “Same Garden”. This group sounds like a working unit; any trips to the West Coast? I’ve got Giorgi on my mind!