1. Computer Liebe
2. Les Moulins de mon Coeur
3. Here, There and Everywhere
4. A Csitari Hegyek Alatt
5. Stets I Truure
6. Yo Vivo Enamorao
7. Un Homme et une Femme
8. Reginella
9. Il Postino
10. September Song
11. Rosemary's Baby
12. Wien, Du Stadt Meiner Träume
13. Pavane - Thoughts of a Septuagenarian
Jan Lundgren - Piano, Fender Rhodes
Mattias Svensson - Bass
Zoltan Csorsz Jr. - Drums, percussion
There has been much talk about a European school of
jazz expression in recent times but, really, listening to Lundgren's
trio here they sound very much like a group based in NYC, Los Angeles
or, indeed, London. The leader is a lyrical player with a light and
pleasant sound, not so much in the Bill Evans style as that of Keith
Jarrett. He can express emotion and warmth in a very few, well chosen
notes and he knows how to use space effectively. He does have his
own personal mode of expression even if he has chosen to express much
of this material in the Evans/Jarrett style of gently flowing piano
with fully integrated bass and drums.
It seems a good idea to pick a baker's dozen tunes
from various European countries and put his own jazz stamp on them.
Les Moulins - better known in English as Windmills of your
Mind, flows along seamlessly, buoyed up by the sympathetic support
furnished by Svennson and Csorzs. He also romps through Un Homme
et une Femme as though it were a regular jazz staple; this is
certainly a first-rate jazz treatment. Even the electronic Fender
instrument does not sound too out of place although his style of playing
is far better served by the traditional grand piano. Fortunately most
tracks here employ just such an instrument.
Lundgren is a consistently satisfying piano stylist,
whether playing with a top US bassist and drummer as he has done in
the past or here with his own, local musicians. Bass and drums are
steady, clear and never obtrusive. Many bass and drum teams could
do well to listen carefully to Svennson and Csorsz on this CD. Overall
a very satisfying release.
Derek Ansell
CD Reviews
Act
9482-2
