Latest CD releases reviewed

NICHOLAS URIE

Excerpts from an Online Dating Service Red Piano Records ****

Kurt Weill for the internet age? In an astonishing debut, composer Nicholas Urie used texts from online dating ads as lyrics for big-band settings whose manner echoes the ribald, anti-bourgeois cabaret songs of 1920s Berlin. And in singer Christine Correa, who handles the lyrics' loneliness, longing for love, and diverse shades of sexual interest, domination and masochism, he has his Lotte Lenya. The intent, he says, is celebratory, not satirical, but the act of celebration surely implies a comment on contrary attitudes to the material. The orchestrations, notably About Me, Cougar Seeks Prey, Bad Girl and Afternoon, are assured and imaginative, never overwhelming the subjects and consistent in tone for each one. The band responds with finesse and exuberance, with fine soloists in Frank Carlberg (piano), John Carlson (trumpet) and Chris Speed (clarinet). www.nicholasurie.com RAY COMISKEY

FLY

Sky & Country ECM ***

Fly's second CD, their first for ECM, continues in their cerebral, understated vein, a world apart from the approach to the tenor trio long ago made familiar by Rollins and Henderson. The emotional content is there, but wrapped in the low-key dynamics of Mark Turner's tenor and soprano. Despite the trio's instinct for opening out the material (all originals by band members) in three-way dialogue, with Larry Grenadier's bass and Jeff Ballard's drums equal voices with Turner's, the tenor is a key figure. His distinctive, gentle musical personality - like his early model, Warne Marsh, he favours the tenor's upper register - exerts considerable influence on the music's climate. He's a marvellous player and the trio's rapport is often extraordinary, particularly on Anandananda, Lady B and Perla Morena, but the music's restrained heat may not suit everyone. www.ecmrecords.com RAY COMISKEY

ROBERTO FONSECA

Akokan Enja Montuno ***

Akokan is Yoruba for the "heart" that seems inseparable from everything Fonseca does. Recorded in Cuba with his regulars, Javier Zalba (reeds), Omar González (bass), Joel Hierrezuelo (percussion) and Ramsés Rodriguez (drums), his new album irresistibly marries his jazz and Latin roots. The pianist's joy in playing is palpable and his technique formidable, with an infallible sense of time and a constant flow of melodic inspiration. The repertoire, mostly by Fonseca, also emphasises his talent for melody. It's not just his solos - those on La Flor Que No Cuidé and Siete Potencias are typically engaging - but also his compositions; his originals such as Lo Que Me Hace Vivir and Como En Las Películas are melodies, not basic phrases juggled through the changes. It's a gift that serves him and his colleagues, including several guest singers, well. www.robertofonseca.com RAY COMISKEY

KEVIN BRADY TRIO

Zeitgeist Fresh Sound ****

Both subtlety and verbosity are at play on Dublin drummer Kevin Brady's latest hook-up with American pianist Bill Carrothers. Brady and bassist Dave Redmond have considerable playing experience together, so much so that they can probably anticipate each other's twists and turns. But the arrival of Carrothers brings new vibrancy to the mix. Listen to how the dialogue develops and note the point at which individual characters begin to dominate the discourse. Carrothers is at his best when adjusting new harmonic shapes, a challenge which drummer and bassist respond to with considerable vim. There's a beautiful, slow- motion lyrical drag to That Russian Thing, while their version of Wayne Shorter's Black Nilemakes a vintage bottle taste fresh and new. A transatlantic relationship destined to get better and better. www.kevinbrady.ie JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: That Russian Thing, Out of the Blue