Ray Comiskeyreviews the latest releases

CARLA BLEY

Appearing Nightly *****

WATT

Pianist/composer Bley's latest is a witty, inventive reflection on big- band jazz of the 1950s and earlier from the perspective of the present; memory and nostalgia, perhaps, tempered by experience and maturity. Although only I Hadn't Anyone Till Youis given a full, characteristically imaginative treatment, the album is drenched in hints of standards, especially in the brilliant five-part (including the piano intro) Appearing Nightlysuite, where Bley manages a wry but swingingevocation of the era, mingling affection, respect and send-up. She remains a superbly individual writer, deftly mixing orchestral colours with a sure

sense of form and how to site her fine soloists, who include Andy Sheppard (tenor), Julian Argüelles (baritone), Gary Valente (trombone) and, presumably, Wolfgang Puschnig (alto) and Lew Soloff (trumpet), within the dramatic arc of each performance. www.musicconnection.org.uk

GREG FELTON/SEAN CARPIO/JACOB WICK

White Rocket ****

Diatribe

On their first appearance two years ago, this piano/drums/trumpet trio seemed a class act. This debut album confirms it. Poised between jazz and contemporary classical music, its balance of form and improvisational freedom is reinforced by the compositions, four each by Felton and Wick, with one by Carpio.

Pieces like the astringent Mutatis Mutandis, or the punningly, bilingually titled Susan Styra, develop into notably wide-ranging dialogue (and, in Susan Styra, a mocking, witty, straightahead conclusion). The cleverness can be self-conscious, as in Recent Events.

But there is also lyric quality in the faltering grace of Lonely Toad, the oddly childlike Sung Onceand Wick's tour de force, The Fisherman's Song, to emphasise that the group is about more than just challenge. This is gripping music by a subtle and adventurous trio. www.diatribe.ie

PABLO HELD

Forest of Oblivion ****

Pirouet

Making his leader debut at 21 with this fine trio album, Pablo Held has done more than live up to his awardwinning exploits as a child prodigy. With a spacious, almost laconic lyricism on ballads and the ability to engage in equally dynamic, intensely interactive and imaginative dialogue with colleagues Robert Landfermann (bass) and Jonas Burgwinkel (drums) on faster pieces, he is already a pianist of surprising maturity.

Apart from a focused free trio improv ( Interlude) and pieces by Wayne Shorter, the late Tony Williams and Federico Mompou's gorgeous Pájaro Triste, Held also wrote all the music.

Like his solos, it's often marked by the unexpected, both harmonically and in terms of line, without sacrificing coherence. It's early days, but, without venturing into untrodden territory, the unshowy, introspective Held seems a singular talent. www.pirouetrecords.com