This week's jazz CDs reviewed

CYMINOLOGY

As Ney ECM ***

Cyminology is a quartet whose ethnic mix embraces Iran, Germany, France and India. And though its leadar, singer and composer Cymin Samawatie, sings in Farsi and uses some texts by 13th and 14th century Persian poets, musically its roots are in jazz, which is where Benedikt Jahnel (piano/composer), Ralf Schwarz (bass) and Ketan Bhati (drums/percussion) share common ground with their leader. The results are often striking. Samawatie has a pure, direct vocal style, unadorned yet expressive, and Jahnel’s choices as accompanist and soloist are spare and telling. The quartet, despite its ethnic diversity, delivers remarkably unified performances even when stretching out. Restraint, rather than overt emotion, is their way. Yet, on a CD full of a uniquely beautiful melancholy, the impression persists that they have a broader range than is disclosed here.

JAN LUNDGREN

European Standards ACT **

From one of the finest mainstream pianists around, this is a disappointment. Some European folk tunes and a few dog-eared Continental standards or film themes ( The Windmills of My Mind, A Man and a Woman, Il Postino, Rosemary's Baby) succumb to the anodyne of good taste in trio arrangements that come close to the feel of mood music, no matter how expertly played. Lundgren hardly seems stretched by a project that doesn't fully engage his jazz talents, and one hopes the original concept for this album was someone else's fault. As a soloist, he is upstaged by his bassist, Mattias Svensson, who was part of the trio responsible for Lundgren's immeasurably superior, award- winning Swedish Standards(1997), which was acquired by ACT and now reissued to coincide with this album. Time has been good to Swedish Standards, and that's the one to go for. www.actmusic.com

LAURENCE HOBGOOD

When the Heart Dances Naim ***

His piano has been overshadowed by his long-term role as singer Kurt Elling's accompanist and MD, but Laurence Hopgood an exceptional player with two fine previous Naim CDs, particularly the excellent trio, State of the Union. Here Hopgood is joined by Charlie Haden for a series of engaging duets. The bassist has also recorded other duets for Naim, notably a superb pair with pianists John Taylor ( Nightfall) and Chris Anderson ( None But the Lonely Heart). This is not at those levels, but Haden plays with a deceptively simple directness that contrasts effectively with Hobgood's abundance of ideas and sense of drama, colour and playfulness. Elling guests on three tracks; his voice was added later and, though he performs well, he doesn't sound totally at ease with the idea. Still, this is not an album to be lightly dismissed. www.thenaimlabel.com