Jazz

The latest releases reviewed.

JAN LUNDGREN A Swinging Rendezvous Marshmallow ****

Although in the recent past Lundgren has recorded free improvisations with bassist Georg Riedel and is also involved in a trio with trumpeter Paolo Fresu and accordionist Richard Galliano, he remains one of the finest living exponents of bop piano. A repertoire drawn mostly from the 1950s, idiomatically invigorated by his trio with Jesper Lundgaard (bass) and Alex Riel (drums) and including pieces by Wynton Kelly, Mal Waldron, Oscar Pettiford and Paul Chambers, reinforces that opinion. But Lundgren also draws sustenance from such as Monk's Well You Needn't and Herbie Nicholls's unusual and demanding Third World, inserting himself into their harmonic and rhythmic idiosyncracies with aplomb. It's yet another instance of his ability to speak the language with ebullience, imagination and skill, yet make it sound fresh. www.janlundgren.com RAY COMISKEY

SOLVEIG SLETTAHJELL Domestic Songs ACT ***

Slettahjell's acclaim so far has come from within the jazz scene, but while she retains her connection with that world (and her Slow Motion band personnel) this latest belongs to a broader spectrum, embracing Lennon/McCartney's Because, Tom Waits's Time, traditional songs, and originals by herself and band members Sjur Miljeteig and Peder Kjellsby. Recorded at home on her own piano, the songs are narrow in scope and delivered in an intimate, unaffected, conversational style. Best are Time (despite a tendency to slur occasional phrase endings), Miljeteig's setting of Dorothy Parker's witty Inscription for the Ceiling of a Bedroom and the love songs, Leave Me Here (Miljeteig), Kjellsby's Never Forget the Good Ones and her own Birds and Hopes. Charming, if an acquired taste. www.curlinglegs.no/slettahjell RAY COMISKEY