Brad Mehldau: (Warner)
Mehldau's latest is a mix of five pieces with Larry Grenadier (bass) and Jorge Rossy (drums), seven piano solos and a bookend of both, all composed by him in reaction to memories of places he has visited. Much is linked, based on linear and harmonic variations suggested by the simple, affecting figure of the first piece. The trios are superb; elegantly telepathic and focused, as fine as the best this marvellous group has done. Less gripping are the piano solos. They have their moments - this is Mehldau, after all - but an insistent, percussive left hand occasionally palls and some lack a persuasive feel of a beginning, middle and end. The best, though, like Airport Sadness and Perugia, rival those gorgeous trios for reflective, elegaic eloquence.
- Ray Comiskey
Claudia Acuna: Wind From The South (Verve)
Acuna, here next Friday as part of the ESB Dublin Jazz Week, is a notable talent among the current crop of jazz singers, adventurous and flexible enough for the stylistically fluid references of contemporary jazz. On this exceptional debut she ranges authoritatively over an eclectic mix of standards - Stevie Wonder, James Brown, originals and songs reflecting her Hispanic background - her voice a thoroughly integrated part of some superb group performances with Jason Lindner (piano), Avishai Cohen (bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums), also due here with her. If the reinterpreted standards, their character radically altered, are absorbing jazz experiences, the price may be too high for some - one person's viand is another's poisson - but it's a fair bet audiences will love her.
- Ray Comiskey