Achirana
Bassist Arild Andersen assembled this close-knit trio in which he joins a fellow veteran, drummer John Marshall, and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, a young pianist who's distinguished himself in the classical field. It's a remarkable jazz debut for the Greek pianist, whose playing reveals none of the stiffness or empty technical display that often appears when classical players turn to improvisation. He belongs to a distinctly European stream of pianists initially influenced byBill Evans, but which has developed an identity of its own. For sheer beauty of sonority and effective use of single notes, he can even invoke comparison with another Mediterranean pianist, the brilliantEnrico Pieranunzi. Tsabropoulos can recast the simplest elements in surprising combinations, and he works closely with Andersen and Marshall in creating gradual tension curves. There's delicacy in the way he uses dissonance to expand "Fable," and thoughtful control in the unfolding,Scriabin-like lyricism of "Monologue." Andersen's dark, grainy bass sound and penetrating lines are stimulus and complement to the liquid piano, and Marshall does a superb job of coloring and energizing the floating slow and medium tempos that the group favors. At their subtle best, the trio's blending of light and dark hues can suggest the almost secret beauty of night-blooming flowers.--Stuart Broomer