LRK TRIO – If You Have A Dream
Losen: LOS 186-2
Evgeny Lebedev: piano, keyboards, accordion; Anton Revnyuk: double bass, electric bass; Ignat Kravtsov: drums, Roland-SPD-SX sampling pad.
Ker Ourio: harmonica (tracks 6, 8); Oleg Grymov: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet (track 8); Vladimir Slabchuk: French horn (track 8).
Main String Quartet (tracks 1,6) - Asiya Abdrakhmaova: violin; Svetlana Ramazanova: violin; Antonina Popras: viola; Alexandra Petrova: cello.
Recorded Mosfilm Studio (3,7) and CineLab Studio (1,2,4,5,6,8), May 2106 and January 2017.
This is the second outing for this fine piano trio from Moscow. As you can see from the list of musicians, they augment their sound with a String Quartet, some reeds and a horn, as well as calling on harmonica maestro Ourio to play on a couple of tracks. Track 6, which features harmonica and strings, is a gentle version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Zingaro’. The arrangement beautifully showcases each instrument, with the harmonica carrying the tune with finesse and elegance (as he also does on the closing track, ‘The thinker’). Elsewhere, the CD opens with some sweeping strings before Lebedev and the trio kick in.
They play excellent contemporary jazz, with very danceable, swinging tunes, especially the title track, ‘If you have a dream (track 2) and ‘Forgotten song’ (track 3) which closes with a swirling electric bass solo from Revnyuk, and ‘Playsovaya’ (track 7) which features Lebedev on keys and accordion. Elsewhere, the trio highlight their empathetic playing and ability to create memorable melodies. The compositions have an intelligent structure that brings light and shade, and switches in rhythm so that each piece feels like a small suite, as much as a single tune. Composing duties are shared across the trio (with Lebedev contributing the bulk of the tunes) which suggests that their approach to composing music, much like their playing, is a shared effort with a common purpose. This could be why the trio takes the players’ initials as its name. Each track, running for around 5 to 7 minutes, has the immediacy of a contemporary jazz classic, and shows how well these players understand their art form. I rate this album very highly indeed and it has been on repeat on my CD player for the last fortnight.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Losen: LOS 186-2
Evgeny Lebedev: piano, keyboards, accordion; Anton Revnyuk: double bass, electric bass; Ignat Kravtsov: drums, Roland-SPD-SX sampling pad.
Ker Ourio: harmonica (tracks 6, 8); Oleg Grymov: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet (track 8); Vladimir Slabchuk: French horn (track 8).
Main String Quartet (tracks 1,6) - Asiya Abdrakhmaova: violin; Svetlana Ramazanova: violin; Antonina Popras: viola; Alexandra Petrova: cello.
Recorded Mosfilm Studio (3,7) and CineLab Studio (1,2,4,5,6,8), May 2106 and January 2017.
This is the second outing for this fine piano trio from Moscow. As you can see from the list of musicians, they augment their sound with a String Quartet, some reeds and a horn, as well as calling on harmonica maestro Ourio to play on a couple of tracks. Track 6, which features harmonica and strings, is a gentle version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s ‘Zingaro’. The arrangement beautifully showcases each instrument, with the harmonica carrying the tune with finesse and elegance (as he also does on the closing track, ‘The thinker’). Elsewhere, the CD opens with some sweeping strings before Lebedev and the trio kick in.
They play excellent contemporary jazz, with very danceable, swinging tunes, especially the title track, ‘If you have a dream (track 2) and ‘Forgotten song’ (track 3) which closes with a swirling electric bass solo from Revnyuk, and ‘Playsovaya’ (track 7) which features Lebedev on keys and accordion. Elsewhere, the trio highlight their empathetic playing and ability to create memorable melodies. The compositions have an intelligent structure that brings light and shade, and switches in rhythm so that each piece feels like a small suite, as much as a single tune. Composing duties are shared across the trio (with Lebedev contributing the bulk of the tunes) which suggests that their approach to composing music, much like their playing, is a shared effort with a common purpose. This could be why the trio takes the players’ initials as its name. Each track, running for around 5 to 7 minutes, has the immediacy of a contemporary jazz classic, and shows how well these players understand their art form. I rate this album very highly indeed and it has been on repeat on my CD player for the last fortnight.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
