Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Listening

Just wanted to make a short blog post to mention two different groups that I have been listening to lately.

The first is a duo between Italian pianist Stefano Bollani and trumpeter Enrico Rava. These two guys play together as a duo so incredibly well. The way Stefano approaches the piano is remarkable, I think that he really just plays tons of music. He has quickly risen to the top of my list of favorite pianists, along with Brad Mehldau and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. If you go on youtube and checkout Stefano you will see that he plays so much differently than both of those guys, he really uses the entire piano. More than anything, he sounds like an entire band, which really makes his duo playing with Enrico Rava seem more like a quartet or even a larger ensemble when I am listening. The way that he improvises and plays harmony is very different than a lot of the American pianists approach it, but you can tell he has absolute control, and has some different influences as an Italian pianist. Enrico Rava is a great trumpet player, I really think he has a great tone - not too bright. Occasionally a note will "burn out", but I actually think that adds to the charm of his playing. It seems real. Their arrangements are outstanding, and I can hear how much they have played together when listening, you can tell they have a real connection.

The other group is the Florian Ross Trio. Florian Ross is a German pianist, and seems a little more streamlined jazz than Stefano Bollani (which reminds me, Stefano has a superb tango feel!). I have been listening to his album "Big Fish, Small Pond" trying to expand my library of piano trio albums, and I am really getting into this album. He has a few short interlude pieces, all titled Swim, followed by some body of water (ie. swim -- pond). These are interesting, and they leave me wondering how much was composed, if any. Florian experiments with a delay on the piano for a few of these, which is really a nice change from the modern piano trio style of some of the other tracks. My favorite song on the album is "Lucky for a Quarter". This is more of a simple song harmonically, but it is the ultimate in tasty. There is a section several forms in on the piano solo where the bass and drums drop into a pedal - This is the highlight of the tune for me, great ensemble playing.
Check it out here.

It has been a while since I have really gotten into any musicians, so I am pretty excited about these guys! They are definitely great musicians, and inspiring/motivating also... although Stefano Bollani seems to play at an unattainable level!

Sincerely,

Mack