Stefan Sirbu: Reverie

The art of daydreaming is the birthplace of creativity. Moldavian-born pianist Stefan Sirbu delves into that state of receptive awareness with his album Reverie. The seven tunes presented here total up to a bit under 40 minutes. Sirbu says his goal was: "To produce a record that one could listen to during a short commute home, to drift away for the time of a twilight bus ride or a peaceful stroll through a city at dusk." This may seem a modest goal. But it is not. He did not bring this first rate quintet into the studio to make a masterpiece, but rather something to be listened to, savored and enjoyed. He and the group rose to that challenge.

He and his quartet—saxophonist Julieta Eugenio, bassist Clovis Nicolas and drummer Anthony Pinciotti—met Sirbu's goal with a relaxed elegance and a smoothness that feels, in part, as if it is coming out of the tradition of the quartet albums from saxophonists Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson and—even further back—Coleman Hawkins, with subtle shadings of classical influences. Additionally, the tune "No Worries" says they can swing with the best of them.

There are no flashing lights or look-at-me fireworks. It sounds like a club date, after hours, where the band is kicking back and playing what they want to play. The twilight mood is cohesive and entrancing. At times it sounds like the Paris jazz scene in the 1950s. Sirbu has a light touch on piano, and he slips some Fender Rhodes in for added sparkle. His simpatico with bassist Nicolas and drummer Pinciotti is cool cat smooth.

Eugenio, who released an exceptional debut album in 2024, Stay, on Cristalyn Records (review here, tells us that Stay was no fluke. She is as eloquent here. Her solo on "Sweet" goes down so easy; this is where the Joe Henderson comparison comes in, with that subtle, intricate and intimate tenor sax articulation.

Sirbu and the band tell beautiful stories, expressing the imagery of dreams, of contentment of endless horizons, of a shared intimacy born of magical nothing-to-prove collaboration.