Light Made Lighter

The second album by Michigan pianist -- known to most fans as a sideman to -- is a giant leap past the adept musicianship shown on his debut. 's trio, with drummer extraordinaire and new bassist , plays a kind of that's new in a sense, even though it is rooted in time-honored traditions. In 's pianism, and meet , , and . There is an elegance of concentration and presentation that exceeds rhythmic and stylistic rigidities. The opener, (which opens and closes the album, making the entire presentation a kind of suite), echoes the opening bars of before it moves through Latin phrasings and textures into a modal openness that shifts toward a funkier, dirtier kind of . In a blazing time signature, layers sevenths and ninths over augmented minor chords and plays as rhythmically as . , for his part, doesn't just keep it on track; he insures the entire thing sings by moving the track toward , who juices the rhythm and double-times . But in his solo, leaves the melody and undoes the harmony, filling it with legato phrasing and sharp angular arpeggios that equate him playing counterpoint to himself. 's read of is clearly influenced by the man who signed him, deconstructs the harmony while leaving the melody intact, coursing over it with a series of arpeggios and moving the entire tune into overdrive before returning it altered, and simmering from so much trio heat. There is plenty of left in 's playing, as evidenced in and the title track, and his are blacker than ever as evidenced by the intensely rhythmic which pits all three members of the ensemble take turns shifting the meter against the key changes and dive deep into the . This is one of the best records in 's "Blue" series thus far, and, more importantly, it reveals to American audiences what a monster really is as a pianist. ~ Thom Jurek