Mark Kramer: Jazz Greetings

Pianist Mark Kramer's "Jazz Greetings" is a rare exception. While Kramer does have a predilection towards popular themes, he is a fine jazz musician, and this album is a tasteful collection of traditional holiday songs where the emphasis is on jazz improvisation rather than holiday hype. Together with bassist Charles Fambrough and drummer Jim Miller, along with special guest artists featured on a few tracks, Kramer artfully renders the tunes in a laidback, sensitive manner. Moreover, the recording quality is excellent.

The "déjà vu" aspect of this CD is that it is uncannily reminiscent of early, classic Bill Evans Village Vanguard trio recordings with Scott LaFaro or Eddie Gomez on bass and mostly Paul Motian on drums. Kramer is a devotee of the late, great Evans, and often works with Gomez. Fambrough and Miller, like Kramer, have Philadelphia roots and connections, and together they artfully recreate the impressionistic style of the Evans trios, with subtlety winning out over flashiness, and the kind of voicings, turns of phrases, and sonorities that made the Evans trios so absorbing and innovative.

This CD offers ideal listening for the peaceful interludes of the holiday season; an excellent choice for those who enjoy laidback and lyrical jazz music.