1. Cakewalk
2. My Romance
3. Blue in Green
4. Blues Etude
5. On the Trail
6. Yours is My Heart Alone
7. Indiana
Marian Petrescu - Piano
Andreas Oberg - Guitar
David Finck - Bass
Mark McLean - Drums
With so many jazz musicians dying in recent months, you might worry about the future of the music. However, worry not, as there seems to be a remarkable number of up-and-coming jazzers to carry the music forward. As it happens, I have recently received new albums - both on the same label - by two pianists who are about the same age and who both suggest that the future of jazz is in good hands. One of these is Tamir Hendelman (whose CD I'll review shortly) and Marian Petrescu.
Petrescu was born in Romania in 1970 but appears to live in Finland, although this album was recorded in New York, at a club called the Jazz Standard. This is only his second CD as a leader: his first was a tribute to Oscar Peterson, with whose style he obviously has a close affility. In fact many times on this album it sounds as if we are hearing the great Oscar reincarnated. Marian has a finely-developed technique, playing runs which could rival Art Tatum, and the same sort of ineluctable swing as Oscar Peterson had.
Marian's main companion on this CD is guitarist Andreas Oberg, who has a technique to match Petrescu's. They are joined by an excellent bassist and a drummer who occasionally lets the side down by sounding rather unsteady - for instance, when he swaps fours with piano and guitar towards the end of Cakewalk. This tune underlines the Peterson connection, as Oscar wrote it, and Petrescu's fingers fly over the keys with Peterson's magical fluency and swing. Oberg's following solo is equally adept.
In My Romance, Petrescu shows that he also has a fine feeling for slower tunes. His introduction quotes Someday My Prince Will Come and he handles the melody with loving care. Andreas Oberg's solo has him vocalising over the guitar in groovy George Benson mode. Marian's piano solo is full of crystalline twinkling, and his final cadenza makes good use of Petersonian octave runs.
Blue in Green is approached stealthily, with piano and guitar complimenting and contrasting with one another perfectly. These two instruments sometimes have difficulty in harmonising, as they are both chordal instruments which can clash, but Petrescu and Oberg work together seamlessly. Oberg cheekily ends the tune with a Pink Panther vamp.
We return to the Peterson connection, not only with Oscar's catchy composition Blues Etude but also with Ferde Grofé's On the Trail and Lehar's Yours is My Heart Alone (also known as You Are My Heart's Delight) - both of which often featured in Peterson's concerts. On all these tracks, we might be listening to a mixture of Oscar's various small groups, with Marian and Andreas sounding as musical and animated as Peterson and Herb Ellis in their heyday. And David Finck's bass solo in On the Trail is pure poetry.
Petrescu rounds off the album with a solo piano interpretation of Indiana, opening with a long rhapsodic introduction which, like Erroll Garner's enigmatic preambles, intriguingly leaves the listener guessing at the tune. However, when the melody arrives (after more than two minutes), it is taken at a cracking pace which proves Marian's stunning dexterity.
For a concert recorded live, the sound is remarkably clear and well-balanced. I am not sure if Petrescu is imitating Oscar Peterson or the resemblance arose naturally but, frankly, I don't give a damn. Either way, Petrescu is marvellous. No wonder his mentor, Martial Solal, called Marian "the Horowitz of jazz piano".
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Resonance RCD 1014
