The Billy Lester Trio: High Standards

With The Billy Lester Trio pianist Billy Lester offers a thrilling new chapter in his decades-long exploration of melodic abstraction and rhythmic vitality. Joined by bassist Marcello Testa and drummer Nicola Stranieri, Lester delivers a set that is as spontaneous, virtuosic, and inventive as any in his discography. For those unfamiliar with his music, this album serves as a perfect introduction, capturing the magic of his off-the-cuff ingenuity while reaffirming his singular voice in the jazz piano tradition.

With a program of well-worn popular and jazz standards, Lester and company breathe extraordinary new life into each piece, constructing performances that are abstract yet grounded, cerebral yet swinging. The album opens with a brisk rendition of "There Will Never Be Another You," performed at a bright tempo with a propulsive, forward-driving swing. Lester dances above the rhythm section, outlining fragments of the melody in unexpected intervals. Testa and Stranieri are fully integrated, pushing and pulling in real time. "Somebody Loves Me" starts familiarly but quickly veers into unexpected territory. Lester stretches the melody nearly to the breaking point, reassembling it in fresh angular lines. The trio is fearless in its deconstruction, yet anchored in deep musical trust. A standout is "What Is This Thing Called Love." This is a brooding, almost noir-like piece where the trio explores space and ambiguity. Lester's use of dissonance and suspended phrasing captures the tune's emotional complexity. Bassist Testa takes an extended solo turn where he develops his ideas organically, conveying a sense of forward motion.

"I'll Remember April" is another up-tempo excursion with its Latin-tinged pulse giving way to moments of fractured swing. Lester sidesteps traditional melodic statements, instead constructing serpentine lines that outline the tune's harmonic terrain in abstract shapes. Stranieri's drumming is especially responsive, inserting rhythmic commentary that mirrors Lester's spontaneity. Throughout this release, there are no musical interpretations that would be regarded as conventional. They are full of urgency and filled with elastic phrasing that provides the listeners with an exhilarating ride. For example, on "Just Friends," the trio toys with form and time. The tune's familiar structure emerges only fleetingly through Lester's oblique references, but the trio's cohesion makes it compelling. Finally, "Lover, Come Back to Me" is exuberant with Lester attacking the keys in surges of forward motion. The trio swings hard here, fuelled by Testa's insistent walking lines and Stranieri's buoyant covering of his drum kit. The album serves as a reminder that the trio format still has uncharted territory, and The Billy Lester Trio continues to explore it with imagination.