European Standards

By Erik Werkman The wonderful trio CD "Mare Nostrum" by Jan Lundgren, Paolo Fresu and Richard Galliano was my first encounter with Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren. I liked his sparse but spot-on piano playing and therefore was curious to hear how he would do in a mere piano trio setting with these to me unknown other musicians. The results are very fine indeed. First of all, he has found a great idea behind this album, by picking only European selections - some pretty well-known, some completely unknown - and showing their timeless quality in catchy (in the good sense of the word) arrangements. Secondly, the trio executes this concept in a brilliant way: it is really a trinity instead of three musicians doing their thing. The empathy amongst these players is very high and each player is allowed sufficient space. On top of that, the crisp and clear sound recording (the fame of Artesuono Recording Studios in Udine, Italy is steadily increasing) and mix does them more than justice. To my drummer-oriented ears, newcomer Zoltan Csörsz Jr does an amazing job, giving the music a rhythmic variety which is futher enhanced by his excellent use of percussion in addition to his beautifully tuned drums. Finally, the album has a beautiful flow, with none of the tunes crossing the 6 minute mark. I can tell from experience that this album can satisfy both the ears of non-jazz lovers and long-time jazz aficionados like the undersigned and can be played at any time of the day. Highly recommended!