CD/LP/Track Review
Sai Ghose Trio: India Looking West
Jim Santella
Jim Santella has been contributing CD reviews, concert reviews and DVD reviews to AAJ since 1997. His work has also appeared in Southland Blues, The L.A. Jazz Scene, and Cadence Magazine.
A piano trio is at the very heart of jazz performance. Sai Ghose and his partners improvise individual solos on nearly every track and work together as one cohesive unit. The pianist has a lively approach and loves to drive his melodies without being forceful. Half of the program is original material, which Ghose has chosen to represent factors influencing his work. The tango, the blues, Far-Eastern chants, Duke Ellington, and vibrant standards appear throughout the program without veering from the mainstream. While Ghose claims to blend the cultures of Bengal and the United States, his program contains only minor references to India.
The album's title track drives up-tempo with a deep, dark, mysterious melody. The trio lightens it up so that Ghose's "East meets West" theme can explore both worlds simultaneously. Later, his "Three or Four" toys with meter, alternating the two rhythms in an unpredictable manner. It's refreshing. Standards, such as "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise," receive a fresh look without straying too far from the beaten path. The Sai Ghose Trio performs timeless music the way Nat and Ella and Louis sang it: straight ahead and loyal to tradition.
Track Listing: Staccato; HMG Blues; India Looking West; In a Sentimental Mood; Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise; There is No Greater Love; Beautiful Love; Three or Four; Close Your Eyes; Night and Day; Time to Come.
Personnel: Sai Ghose- piano; Jerry Wilfong- bass; Mike Connors- drums.
Record Label: Summit Records | Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
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