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Trio Magic: Live in Japan & Ballads
By
Enrico Pieranunzi/Marc Johnson/Joey Baron
Live in Japan
CamJazz
2007
in the spring of 2004 and highlights from several different concerts were chosen for the engaging 2-CD Live in Japan. With the exception of several works by legendary film composer Ennio Morricone, all of the material is original, dominated by the trio's three stunning extended improvisations. "Impronippo" hints briefly at the standard "All the Things You Are" in a very abstract way, bringing to mind the intensity of Keith Jarrett's Trio concerts (but thankfully without any gratuitous moaning). Baron's sparse, slow-to-develop introduction to "Improleaves" builds the tension for the leader's entrance, with Pieranunzi following a similar pattern and hinting briefly at the structure to "Autumn Leaves" occasionally in his right hand without building upon it. The final trio improvisation, "Improminor," is the most structured of the three long improvisations, beginning with an ominous opening but transforming into a post-bop cooker, with fine solos all around. Their breezy take of Morricone's "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" and percolating arrangement of his "Musashi" also prove memorable.
Enrico Pieranunzi/Marc Johnson/Joey Baron
Ballads
CamJazz
2006
Although Ballads was released prior to Live in Japan, it was actually recorded in the studio following the trio's Far East tour. As its title suggests, Ballads consists of laid-back arrangements, all beautifully played in lyrical settings. Pieranunzi draws from standards of the Great American Songbook and works by European songwriters, plus his own compositions and one by Baron. Their approach to each piece is rather reserved for the most part, never straying too far from the melody yet making every note count, though Pieranunzi does get a bit animated for a time as he takes over after Johnson's solo in "These Foolish Things." Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing" has a similar structure, with Pieranunzi showing flashes of Evans' harmonic sense. All of Pieranunzi's originals are enjoyable, though no one song stands out from the pack. Baron's contribution, "Thought," is a melancholy miniature. Ballads is a perfect CD for a quiet evening at home.
Tracks and Personnel
Live in Japan
Tracks: Aurora Giapponese; Impronippo; How Can You Not?; If Only For A Time; Mio Caro Dottor Grasler; Musashi; Improleaves; Winter Moon; Broken Time; Tokyo Reflections; Nuovo Cinema Paradiso; Ninfa Pleba; When I Think Of You; Improminor.
Personnel: Enrico Pieranunzi: piano; Marc Johnson: bass; Joey Baron: drums.
Ballads
Tracks: Mi Sono Innamorato di Te; These Foolish Things; When I Think of You; A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing; The Heart of a Child; Sundays; Thought; Night After Night; When All was Chet; Miradas; Cabiria's Dream.
Personnel: Enrico Pieranunzi: piano; Marc Johnson: bass; Joey Baron: drums.
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About Enrico Pieranunzi
Instrument: Piano
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