Soren Bebe: Echoes

A yearning reticence lies at the heart of Echoes, Norwegian pianist Soren Bebe's sixth trio disc. Stark yet beautiful at all times, Echoes follows in the spacious, introverted soundscapes of fellow Danish pianistsTord Gustavsen and the late Esbjorn Svensson.

Neo-classical in structure yet open to the tides, the Bebe written title track leads off Echoes and plants you immediately into the whispery, twilight impressionism that is the pianist's forte. Suggesting images of a swaying, debutante ball, the trio—Bebe and his equally agile and dexterous bassist Kasper Tagel and drummer Anders Mogensen—never leave you cold, simmering with the deceptive intimacy of "Waltz for Steve," the folksy lilt and delicacy of the Bill Evans like "Winx" and Tagel's symmetrical "Homeward."

There's an exquisite balance on display on Echoes. Together since 2007, the trio anticipates each other's leaning in full melodic real-time, as the roughly translated, Danish traditional lullabye "I'm Tired and Off to Bed" attests. Bebe's "Alba" is a romantic delight, its lovely melody rolling along, insisting itself into your consciousness. "Alone" should leave you feeling anything but, while the free-form "New Beginning" allows the trio to have fun with a percussion fueled groove. An album to spend some time with, to forget about the times we're in.

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