Justin Salisbury - Evergreen (2022) Hi-Res

With the ten tracks of "Evergreen", Justin Salisbury, accompanied by Max Ridley on bass and Dan Nadeau on drums, shows his exceptional mastery of the piano and an extraordinary ability to conduct the ensemble.

The first Go track begins with lively drumming, soon joined by the brilliant syncopated piano, reminiscent of Dave Brubeck, making the song light, inviting and enthralling.

The second piece let life = true reveals from the beginning the most intellectual component of Salisbury in a quick race to the finish line, between piano and drum, in which polytonal colors and counterpoints between the two hands highlight a sincere and complex writing.

Ciro, inspired by the name of a character from Gomorrah, begins with a beautiful melody that remains in the mind, a ballad that moves between a series of ripples and waterfalls, then focusing on the drums, to return later to a jangling flight of notes.

The fourth piece Aurelius, dedicated to the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius, starts with an enchanting melody, which then changes and twists, recalling in some places the legendary Bill Evans.

Sangha invokes constant walking, almost processional in character, a deep, growing and repetitive feeling, then climbing higher, faster, and describing what appears to be an arc of happiness and new stability in a place of profound hope.

In Interlude the bass slips, the piano drags, sneaks behind it, and then the drummer hits the cymbal. It is perhaps a question, a joke, symbolizing those times when one gets lost and wonders how to go home to a safe harbor.

In No Face the melody seems to meander in one direction and then in another, with frequent moments of surprise; a sense of play and wonder thus dominates, even in discouraging times like those to which the pandemic has accustomed us, throwing everyone into a sea of ​​masked faces and a struggle to face confusion, fear and mystery every day.

Barang Barang is a song that Justin wrote during a residency in Cambodia. "Barang" is a casual term for a foreigner, which can have a friendly or sometimes even offensive meaning. Here the bass begins to play for a few minutes and then, almost like an old train, picks up speed and in a wild ride leads to the finish line, delighting the listener.

The tragic pandemic period did not discourage Justin and the community of his musician friends, who persevered and continued to play for the love of music; many of them live in Brooklyn, near the intersection of Cornelia and Evergreen, in the Bushwick neighborhood, which inspired the last two songs Cornelia and Evergreen, which close the album.

Evergreen begins with a reflective and melancholy bass, and then moves on to a contemplative piano exploration, moving in an almost evening atmosphere, with bright rising stars, until resolving itself in the silence and stillness of the night.

"Evergreen" is thus an album that talks about Oregon, youth, persistence, freshness, wild nature, the mountain, portrayed on the album cover, where Justin's father walks in the fog, giving an innovative sound, full of energy, beauty and hope.