Sunna Gunnlaugs: Go Round Merry

The title of Icelandic pianist-composer Sunna Gunnlaugs' 15th album as leader is a manifesto of sorts—a call to embrace the moment and savor life's simple pleasures as we go about our business. Gunnlaugs has always shown a penchant for memorable melodies, and this album—her sixth with her longstanding trio partners, bassist Þorgrímur Jónsson and drummer Scott McLemore—is no exception. A working unit since 2011, it should come as no surprise that there is an egalitarian esprit de corps across these 10 compositions, a democratic balance enhanced by the shared compositional duties, with bassist and drummer contributing half of the material between them.

The album's only cover is U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." It is hard to imagine any jazz combo reworking this stadium-rock anthem—or indeed most other U2 songs—but Gunnlaugs artfully molds the melody to her less-is-more aesthetic, creating a fresh sonic tableau of lilting tenderness. The occasional jazz standard aside, Gunnlaugs has rarely recorded covers during her career, but she shares something of Brad Mehldau's gift for reimagining the all-too-familiar. Worth checking out is her persuasive interpretation of Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go," with Verneri Pohjola on Ancestory (Sunny Sky Records, 2018).

It may not be entirely coincidental that Gunnlaugs' pianism at times evokes the breezy melodicism of Vince Guaraldi. "Be Like Charlie" is inspired by Charles M. Schulz (see story here), creator of Peanuts, the iconic cartoon whose music will forever be associated with Guaraldi. All three musicians stretch out here, with McLemore's lively, vamp-fueled solo contrasting with the spare, lyrical interventions of pianist and bassist. Gunnlaugs' influences are internalized rather than overtly displayed, though the economy of notes that is her currency recalls the early Ahmad Jamal or the folk-inflected excursions of Jan Johansson.

Space is key to the trio's interplay, not only on the brush-steered balladry of "In Peace," "Minor Delay"—both penned by Jónsson—and the caressing "Late Night Radio," but also when the trio is swinging. And swing it does: on the uplifting title track, where Gunnlaugs transitions from a melodically bright run to dancing chordal rhythms; on the gently bluesy "Bobo's Boogie," her playful nod to Bobo Stenson; and on the buoyant "The Way Beyond." Jónsson's "Matur" closes the album on a hymnal note, with Gunnlaugs' gospel tinge bridging the gap between Reykjavík and Abdullah Ibrahim's Cape Town.

In an era increasingly dominated by technological experimentation and genre hybridization, Sunna Gunnlaugs' Go Round Merry is a handsome reminder of the subtle delights of lovingly rendered acoustic jazz. A welcome addition to the Icelandic pianist's discography.