Esmuc Blues

An exceptional trio outing by Spanish pianist Albert Bover, featuring Chris Higgins on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums. The piano sound is fantastic -- hats off to engineer Jordi Vidal -- and the trio interplay is crisp and inspired. A Bach "Aria," played in a bright rubato feel, kicks off the album; Bover reprises the theme unaccompanied at the end of the program. In between, he offers a remarkable bitonal reading of "You Are Too Beautiful" (he calls it "Are You Too Beautiful?"), as well as unconventional looks at "Body and Soul," "I Fall in Love Too Easily," and Noel Rosa's "Pra Que Mentir." (The liners fail to credit "Lennie's Pennies" to Lennie Tristano.) Bover's hip, memorable originals include the beautiful waltz "Old Bottles, New Wine," the poignant bossa ballad "Post Nuclear Holocaust," and the bright, churning 7/4 "Set De Nou." Bover, Higgins, and Rossy are also strikingly empathic on the spontaneously composed "Trio Improvisation." ~ David R. Adler