The Sunday Jazz Brunch Presents

Piano Trios

Air Date: 8/28/2022

I was thrilled to hear a track on the new CD Tone Paintings from pianist Craig Davis. The song, which opens the second hour, embodies the exact vibe that I hope to achieve with some frequency on The Sunday Jazz Brunch. It's mellow, but it has a subtle energy, and it is just so pretty. Isn't it truly satisfying to find beauty in something simple like a song being played by three folks with piano, bass, and drums?

Simplicity is something I really like about piano trios. Nothing against artists who play other instruments or belong to bands with different configurations. Just that a piano trio is such a simple grouping, having everything needed to produce a complete jazz sound. Assuming a certain level of competence and professionalism, nothing is wasted in this setting. 

Also it is easier to hear each artist speak his or her own truth. I might not have acquired a taste for certain styles and certain artists who play bass, for example, without coming to appreciate this format. In other groupings the bass will often not stand out, just appearing as a 'heartbeat,' but in a piano trio you really want the bass to stand out. Same for the drums. 

There is an assumption here, which is that in a trio you will have a conversation among three more or less equal artists. I will posit that if this is not the case, that if all you have is a pianist with backing musicians, then you don't have a very good trio.  

Most of the trios appear during the first hour, in a mixture of recent and even more recent material. Frank Kimbrough's posthumous new release had me listening to some of his older material, and we have a track here from 2008. New to me in the last couple of years are pianists Jeremy Manasia, Lenny Marcus, and David Janeway. I just had to include the Larry Willis CD from 2005 The Big Push, featuring bassist Buster Williams. It was from this CD that I first woke up to Mr. Williams' unique style. And speaking of bass players, I also felt obliged to feature Mads Vinding, with the superb Enrico Pieranunzi on piano.

Just a few other things to look out for during the show: 

  • The new release from The Jazz Professors Blues and Cubes takes its inspiration from Pablo Picasso. (BTW, condolences on the recent passing of the band's trumpeter, Dan Miller.)
  • Barry Coates, Jimmy Haslip, and Jerry Kalaf  have a new release that will make you think of a group like Oregon as well as some older work by Pat Metheny.
  • We have a new release from Brazilian drummer Duduka Da Fonseca, which features the talented Helio Alves on piano.
  • Don't miss vocalist Maria Bethânia during Brazil/World hour. 
I predict that it's going to be a relaxing, easy Sunday morning for you. Simply tune in to WICN 90.5 FM starting at 8am ET.

Best,

Marty


Photo: Frank Kimbrough with Ben Allison on Bass and Matt Wilson on Drums

HOUR ONE: Contemplative Morning : I Love Piano Trios

Tierney Sutton-Dancing In The Dark-12 Last Dance,Dancing In The Dark 2004
Jeremy Manasia-Green Dream-04 Rockland Ave. 2012
Frank Kimbrough-Verrazano Moon-08 Single Petal of a Rose 2008
Stan Hope-Put on a Happy Face 2005-08 Somewhere in the Night
Jimmy Haslip\Red Heat\Laguna
006 Lenny Marcus Trio - When A Door Opens
Chiara Civello-The Space Between-13 Your home 2007
Larry Willis Trio The Big Push 07 Everything I Have Is Yours 2005
Libby York-Here With You 2008-02 The Day the World Stopped Turning
David Janeway\Distant Voices \David Janeway - 11 In Passing feat Cameron Brown Billy Hart
Mads Vinding, Alex Riel, Enrico Pieranunzi-05 My Foolish Heart (1997)

HOUR TWO: New For You

Craig Davis\Dodo 2022\06 Opus No. 5
Tierney Sutton\Paris Sessions 2 2022\Pure Imagination
Jazz Professors\Blues and Cubes 2022\ 06 View Of Heaven
Jo Harrop\The Heart Wants 2022\Wise Words
David Slonaker Big Band\Convergency 2022\I Had the Craziest Dream
Nancy Kelly\Jazz Woman_ The Reel To Real Sessons\Move Over
Adam Shulman\Just the Contrafacts  2022\Not So Easy to Love
Courtney Freed\Big Crazy Love 2022\Take Your Time
Doug MacDonald\Overtones 2022\Ricky Speaking feat L.A. All-Star Octet
Laura Stilwell\Out of a Dream 2022\You Stepped Out of a Dream
Dee Bell\Love for Sailing Over Seas 2022\By Chance (Acaso)
Shelly Rudolph\The Way We Love 2022\Butterfly Heart
Dan Costa\Skyness\Prologue

HOUR THREE: Brazil/World

Duduka Da Fonseca\Yes 2022\Montreux feat Helio Alves
Tierney Sutton\Paris Sessions 2 2022\Triste
Cliff Korman\Brasilified 2022\\Brasilified
Daniela Soledade\Pretty World 002 Daniela Soledade - Como E Gostoso Sonhar
Antonio Adolfo\Octet and Originals 2022\09 Zabumbaia
Dmitri Matheny-Jazz Hour-08 Estate 2016
Eduardo Ortiz-El Tiempo Pasa 2022-04 Lazy
Dori Caymmi-Dori Caymmi-08 Desafio (Defiance)
Ignacio Berroa-Codes 2006-08 Inútil Paissagem (Useless Landscapes)
Maria Bethânia-A Interprete 2000-02 Infinito Desejo
Hendrik Meurkens\And The WDR Big Band 2022\Mountain Drive

HOUR FOUR: Groove, Baby

Jimmy Haslip\New Dreams 2022\Barry Coates, Jimmy Haslip, Jerry Kalaf - 01 Towner
Jazz Funk Soul\Forecast 2022\When the Time Comes
Jo Harrop\The Heart Wants 2022\Everything's Changing
Najee\Savoir Faire 2022\Savoir Faire
Bill O'Connell-A Change Is Gonna Come 2022-07 Sweet Peanut
Diego Rivera\Mestizo 2022\Mestizo
Yvonne Flores\Sheer Bliss 2022\Sheer Bliss
Juan Carlos Quintero\Table For Five 2022\Song For My Father
Matthew Whitaker-Connections 2021-08 I'm Sorry
Jean Baylor & Marcus Baylor-The Baylor Project (Generations) 2021-12 Only Believe
Andre Ferreri Quintetto - Numero Uno - 03 - Uptown Swing

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