Peter Madsen Trio: Faces of Love

Although its title might suggest a surfeit of sentimentalism or saccharine balladry, there is nothing mawkish about pianist Peter Madsen's latest trio offering. Madsen instead is seeking a wider perspective from which to explore love in all its forms, drawing inspiration from a panoply of sources both familiar (Shakespeare, Dickinson, Blake) and not-so-familiar (Indian poet-activist Sarojini Naidu, Japanese poet Ono no Komachi). Accompanied by his stellar partners, bassist Herwig Hammerl and drummer Martin Grabher, the results are a stirring set of tunes, both intricately structured and impeccably performed, providing listeners a chance to ponder the many manifestations of love, both earthly and transcendent.

This is the third release from this trio configuration, and like its predecessor, 88 Butterfly (Playscape Recordings, 2022), Faces of Love produces its distinctive beauty through the pianist's penchant for songcraft: pieces that challenge expectations with an intrinsic complexity, yet still resonating with a compelling emotional core. It is truly music for the head and the heart and an ideal approach for this album in particular. Although the pieces run the gamut of poetic inspiration, the musical language falls squarely within the leader's post-bop proclivities. Persian poet and Sufi mystic Rumi's ecstatic wonderings may serve as the jumping-off point for Madsen's "Defeated by Love," but the music is itself rooted in mainstream jazz, buoyed by a firm groove courtesy of Hammerl and Grabher that is more Latin-inflected than anything one might expect from the Middle East. Similarly, listeners anticipating classical Indian stylings on "Ecstasy," the piece dedicated to Naidu, will not find them. But it is no less exciting as a hard-swinging excursion that features plenty of Madsen's prowess on a punchy, tenacious solo.

It is to Madsen's credit that he steers away from making the cultural-musical connections too obvious, as his mastery of jazz idioms is where his strengths lie, and it is where this trio is undeniably at its best. It is hard to know what Emily Dickinson would have thought of the Afro- Cuban feel permeating "Wild Nights—Wild Nights," but she might very well have enjoyed the piece's irrepressible energy. And would Lebanese poet Ameen Rihani have recognized his inspiration in "Let Thine Eyes Whisper?" Perhaps not, although it is impossible to fault Madsen and company for producing such a beautiful, searching ballad, regardless.

Both Hammerl and Grabher play crucial roles throughout the album. Hammerl's bluesy solo to open "My Mistresses [sic] Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun" is enticing, but so is his sinewy ostinato at the heart of the piece. His oblique musings also help define the open-ended feel of "Sadness," a contemplative piece dedicated to Confucius, which also benefits enormously from Grabher's assorted percussion, which he adds to fine effect throughout the album.

In his liner notes, Madsen expresses his desire to create music that "could inspire connection, beauty, growth, and wonder," and he has certainly done that with Faces of Love.