Niels Lan Doky - The Russian Album (2007)

Pianist Niels Lan Doky explores classical music by seven different Russian composers who were active during the 19th and 20th centuries. Joined by drummer Alex Riel and bassist Pierre Boussaguet, several of Doky's arrangements leave much of the romanticism of the original works intact as he plays variations of their famous themes, gradually converting Modest Mussorgsky's "Promenade" (from Pictures at an Exhibition) into a bluesy vehicle, though his adaptation of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee" is a full-fledged, high-octane post-bop improvisation, not introducing its theme until near the end of the performance. The arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Theme from Violin Concerto in D Major" is in honor of the late bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and a lush feature for Boussaguet and the leader, accompanied by Riel's sensitive brush work. Doky's originals fit in beautifully with the concept of this remarkable CD, sounding like modern classics themselves, though without a Russian flavor, especially the Impressionistic "Improvised Colours," which the trio evidently created on the spot during the recording sessions. © Ken Dryden