Jazz Articles about Ron Surace

Ron Surace: Trio City 2: The Return of the Trio

by Eric J. Iannelli
November 21, 2004

The title of this album, pianist Ron Surace's fourth for Chicago-centric Southport Records, sounds like a bad B-movie, a connotation Surace acknowledges with a grin: the cover art features the words digitally imposed on a downtown cinema marquee. And though it avoids the easy clichés and stiff performances found in a lot of second-rate cinema, the album is a Hollywood sequel to the first Trio City , released in late 2001, in more ways than one. Bassist Tatsu Aoki and ...

Ron Surace: Trio City 2: The Return Of The Trio

by Jim Santella
October 10, 2004

The straight-ahead piano trio that Ron Surace brings to the forum keeps the swing tradition alive while imparting a personal share of the music's qualities.

As Tatsu Aoki's soul-stirring bass introduces the group's exotic interpretation of “Caravan," you get the feeling that this familiar face is about to receive a facelift. Sure enough, drummer Dave Pavkovic adds a light syncopated texture that boldly ushers in Surace's unique impression of this classic piece with wire brushes. The pianist rebounds ...