Roberto Magris: Lovely Day (s)

Italian pianist Roberto Magris began his journey to the United States—specifically, Kansas City—in 2007, although his recording career began in 1990, in Europe. He expresses himself, for the most part, in the bebop mode—good old-fashioned bop. His inspirations: Lee Morgan, Elmo Hope, Cannonball Adderley and more.

Magris found a home at Kansas City's JMood Records, where he has released more than a score of classic albums. But never a solo piano outing.

Magris is so adept at working within the ensemble context—his Europlane sextet, the five-horn front line JM Horns group—that it might be easy to let the experience of his piano virtuosity slip by only slightly noticed. His Lonely Day (s), his first solo outing in a forty-year career—fixes that alone-at-the-piano missing link.

He opens with the only original of the set, "Blues Clues." The mood is deep indigo, an Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson style romp. Magris' technique dazzles—Tatum and Garner comparisons should not be thrown out there lightly, but they fit here. The sound is pristine, with a rich resonance that rings gloriously. " Reverend Du Bop" comes from the Andrew Hill songbook. It receives a sweet yet plaintive treatment by Magris. A second Hill composition, "Laverne," is borrowed from Hill's intrepid 1963 Blue Note Records album. Smokestack.The tune, in Magris' hands, has an understated celebratory vibe. Nestled between the two Hill compositions, we find Thelonious Monk's finest tune, "Bemsha Swing." (Some say his best is it is "'Round Midnight," but a handful of his compositions are better. Argue over drinks about this. It will be an interesting conversation). Magris expands the harmonic and rhythmic aspects—already quite expansive—to lay down a prancing, sunny side of the street groove, and, again, the pianist's virtuosity is stunning. Magris says, "For me, it's a matter of a frameless, unbroken, honest, personal akasha (a shared consciousness) of jazz music.

Indeed.

Also included are Billy Strayhorn's gorgeous "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing," more Monk ("Let's Cool One") and Leonard Bernstein's lovely "Lonely Town."

The closer, pianist Steve Kuhn's "The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers" has a McCoy Tyner feeling—big, bold chords and a dense melody. The fierce beauty of the tune, as laid down by Magris, is a perfect wrap-up. Kuhn snatched the name Crabfeather (this was in the early 1970s) from a now-obscure pianist who bought an ad in one of the jazz magazines.

So...rave on Harrison Crabfeathers; rave on Roberto Magris.