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The wonderful Renee Rosnes doesn't record nearly enough; she's done seven albums since she
signed with Blue Note in the late '80s for her self-titled debut. Pas de Trois, credited to the
two Drummonds (Ray and Billy) in the rhythm section and conceived by überproducer
Todd Barkan, is on True Life Jazz; its original Japanese title was Letter to Evans because so
many of the tunes were associated with Bill. The recording was intended to reproduce the feel of a
night at Bradley's, the late, lamented Greenwich Village club famous for gathering the best pianists
in jazz, and it does: with minimal reliance on charts in favor of spontaneous arrangements, the
music has the warm, immediate feel of a live session.
Rosnes has a gift for blowing the dust off standards, making them sound fresh and personal, and
her comping is always unusually sensitive and melodic. Here she has impeccable support from the
Drummonds: Ray the bassist takes some wonderful solos, and Billy the drummer (and Renee's
husband) is intricate and perfectly attuned. Pas de Trois means
dance of three, an apt description of the trio's communal energy: strong without being
aggressive, companionable and fluid.
Their pallette here ranges from swinging versions of "You and the Night and the Music,"
"Pas de Trois," "I Hear a Rhapsody" and the burner,
"Golden Earrings," to mid-tempo versions of "My Romance" and
"Emily" that give new pulse to those classics. "Rhapsody" is pure stretch-out
joy, while "Too Young to Go Steady" demonstrates how to keep a ballad consistently
interesting and moving, even when the material is less than stellar. The record includes a beautiful
version of Wayne Shorter's "Miyako" as a
tribute to the year Rosnes spent with his band (1988), and ends with a celestial
"Haunted Heart," introduced with one of the loveliest piano solos I've ever heard.
Pas de Troix is a refreshing, thoroughly entertaining recording from a classy trio. Check it out
if you haven't heard Rosnes and the Drummonds; if you have, you need no encouragement from
me.
~ Dr. Judith Schlesinger
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Track Listing: You and the Night and the Music, Too Young to Go Steady, Pas de Trois, My Romance, Emily,
Golden Earrings, Miyako, I Hear a Rhapsody, Haunted Heart
Personnel: Renee Rosnes (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), Billy Drummond (drums).
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