Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Laszlo Gardony: Natural Instinct

168

Laszlo Gardony: Natural Instinct

By

View read count
Laszlo Gardony: Natural Instinct
Who said "those who can't play teach ? It's not necessarily true, as some of the best jazz musicians can be found hiding out in institutions of higher learning. Laszlo Gardony is a case in point: Hungarian-born and Boston-bred (he attended Berklee School of Music), the classically trained pianist/composer has been nurturing the creative talents of jazz's next generation for some years now.

His latest release, Natural Instinct, features drummer Yoron Israel and fellow Beantowner John Lockwood, a bassist best known for his work with The Fringe (one of free jazz's best kept secrets, featuring tenor saxophonist George Garzone and drummer/percussionist Bob Gulloti). The disc contains a mix of original tunes and covers, the latter rendered with Gardony's subtle yet signature reharmonizations and melodic embellishments. The pianist's chops are flawless, making his complex rhythmic permutations and fleet lyricism sound effortless and off-the-cuff. Never overplaying, Gardony offers up short and succinctly constructed solos that serve the tunes.

Drummer Israel is the consummate accompanist, generously supporting the pianist with an understated eloquence that, ironically, makes it easy to understand why he may be one of the most underrated drummers in the biz. Lockwood, too, says more with less; subtle and supple, he steps out briefly for a few moments, particularly on "Thinking of Stella, where his counterpoint is uncannily empathetic. Without forcing the issue, Gardony and cohorts have allowed a wonderful collaboration to take place, like a conversation between old friends who are not in a hurry to talk each other's ears off. Let's hope his students are listening too.

Track Listing

Natural Instinct; Revolution; Hidden Message; Motherless Child; Me and My Echo; Waking Dreams; Thinking of Stella; Peace; Softly (As in a Morning Sunrise); Someone; Us and the Night and the Music.

Personnel

Laszlo Gardony: piano; John Lockwood: bass; Yoron Israel: drums.

Album information

Title: Natural Instinct | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Laszlo Gardony Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.