STEFANO BOLLANI – Joy In Spite Of Everything
ECM 378 4459
Stefano Bollani (piano); Mark Turner (tenor saxophone); Bill Frisell (guitar); Jesper Bodilsen (double bass); Morten Lund (drums)
Recorded June 2013
For his latest release on ECM, Bollani has retained the trio from his previous album Stone In The Water and increased the line-up to a quintet with addition of Bill Frisell and Mark Turner. He then proceeds to confound expectations using the five musicians in various groupings from quintet, quartet, trio and duo. In doing so he has managed to offer a variety of settings without upsetting the core sound that has been established by the quintet when downsizing configurations, such is the uniformity and compatibility of both the material and the participants.
It could be argued that Bollani is almost playing a game of contradictions, firstly in retaining the use of a trio that has played together as a unit, and then throwing into the mixture saxophonist Turner with whom he worked with before with drummer, Paul Motian and Enrico Rava, and Bill Frisell who he had never even met prior to the recording session. Familiarity with the work of all concerned however has ensured that the original compositions that the pianist brought to the session were all conceived with the sound of each musician specifically in mind, both individually and collectively. This combined with the joy of playing, and in forging new musical relationships has resulted in an album of real quality.
The quintet kick things off with an infuriatingly catchy calypso in ‘Easy Healing’, and this is followed s up with the knotty ‘No Pope, No Party’ for the trio and saxophone, with Turner’s lithe lines being as unpredictable as Bollani’s theme. This line up is also featured on the beautiful ballad ‘Las Hortensais’ with every phrase and nuance in Mark Turner’s gorgeous saxophone sound captured.
The guitarist gets his moment on a track accompanied by the trio on ‘Ismene’ that after a reflective opening statement from piano and guitar flows gently with some lyrically sound ideas from both Frisell and Bollani. This empathy is again demonstrated on the due cut, ‘Teddy’ which was allegedly written with swing pianist Teddy Wilson in mind.
This wholly satisfying set concludes with just the trio with the dancing and unpredictable melody line of the title track, propelled most convincingly by Bodilsen and Lund accompanying the leader’s buoyant solo. All in all a diverse set of imaginative themes held cohesively together by Bollani in a manner that is full of surprises.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
ECM 378 4459
Stefano Bollani (piano); Mark Turner (tenor saxophone); Bill Frisell (guitar); Jesper Bodilsen (double bass); Morten Lund (drums)
Recorded June 2013
For his latest release on ECM, Bollani has retained the trio from his previous album Stone In The Water and increased the line-up to a quintet with addition of Bill Frisell and Mark Turner. He then proceeds to confound expectations using the five musicians in various groupings from quintet, quartet, trio and duo. In doing so he has managed to offer a variety of settings without upsetting the core sound that has been established by the quintet when downsizing configurations, such is the uniformity and compatibility of both the material and the participants.
It could be argued that Bollani is almost playing a game of contradictions, firstly in retaining the use of a trio that has played together as a unit, and then throwing into the mixture saxophonist Turner with whom he worked with before with drummer, Paul Motian and Enrico Rava, and Bill Frisell who he had never even met prior to the recording session. Familiarity with the work of all concerned however has ensured that the original compositions that the pianist brought to the session were all conceived with the sound of each musician specifically in mind, both individually and collectively. This combined with the joy of playing, and in forging new musical relationships has resulted in an album of real quality.
The quintet kick things off with an infuriatingly catchy calypso in ‘Easy Healing’, and this is followed s up with the knotty ‘No Pope, No Party’ for the trio and saxophone, with Turner’s lithe lines being as unpredictable as Bollani’s theme. This line up is also featured on the beautiful ballad ‘Las Hortensais’ with every phrase and nuance in Mark Turner’s gorgeous saxophone sound captured.
The guitarist gets his moment on a track accompanied by the trio on ‘Ismene’ that after a reflective opening statement from piano and guitar flows gently with some lyrically sound ideas from both Frisell and Bollani. This empathy is again demonstrated on the due cut, ‘Teddy’ which was allegedly written with swing pianist Teddy Wilson in mind.
This wholly satisfying set concludes with just the trio with the dancing and unpredictable melody line of the title track, propelled most convincingly by Bodilsen and Lund accompanying the leader’s buoyant solo. All in all a diverse set of imaginative themes held cohesively together by Bollani in a manner that is full of surprises.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
